World Shakuhachi Discussion / Go to Live Shakuhachi Chat
You are not logged in.
Hi Guys,
i would like to change the look of my flute.
I was thinking to paint in black.(I am open to other options too:-)
Any sugestion of what kind of paint?
Looking forward to you wisdoom.
Geni
Offline
Urushi would seem a natural option. "Natural" in several senses of the word. Seems better proven than any other substance to stick to and protect bamboo for a long time. You should be able to find plenty of photos of full-urushi'd flutes around on the net.
Here's one from Perry Yung's blog:
Or here's the other end of the spectrum. I find this one a bit creepy.
-Darren.
Offline
Thanks Darren
where can I get (buy) urushi?
Offline
geni wrote:
Thanks Darren
where can I get (buy) urushi?
It has been discussed here on the forum. Meijiro sells it for sure, though. I have a small tube of it, on generous loan but I'm at the stage that I'll have to buy some for myself now.
Remember to gear-up with a respirator, gloves, long sleeves, etc. That advice can be found from the seasoned urushi pros here on the forum also. "Search".
-Darren.
Offline
thanks Darren..i am searching..and reading.
Offline
One thing I've been considering for a while is not painting the whole flute, but rather painting an image or some calligraphy on one. I've seen some flutes with calligraphy written to the side of some simple image added. Those are very beautiful when done right. Especially the larger flutes often have a fair bit of space. With some light colored bamboo, this should work nicely if the paint used was either black or something dark. For darker flutes, bright white might work nicely.
If anyone has any experiences doing this kind of thing, let me know how well it turned out and if there is anything to consider before getting started.
Offline
Three diagonal stripes on that white flute would give it a nice Adidas theme. How about a camo shakuhachi? Or leopard spots? Why not go all the way and stick real fur to it? hehe
I saw a flute made by Ryuho Miura that had some marone urushi covering the bell on the outside, and an artist had painted a crane on it in very fine gold. Actually there were two of these flutes; the first Miura had made some years ealier and the second was a copy of the first one by the same artist. $30,000 or so was the estimated price for the copy.
Offline
geni wrote:
Hi Guys,
i would like to change the look of my flute.
I was thinking to paint in black.(I am open to other options too:-)
Any sugestion of what kind of paint?
Looking forward to you wisdoom.
Geni
Geni,
The advantage of urushi is that it takes many light coats to cover completely.
This way you can see how it evolves. Sometimes it's nice to stop before it is opaque.
Other times a solid finish looks best.
Leaving it semi-transparent can give it more depth.
It's important to rub it out between coats if you want a very glassy finish. Overwise you'll see little bumps and scratches on the surface like this.
Offline
it looks beautifull.
Offline
caffeind wrote:
Why not go all the way and stick real fur to it? hehe
Wow! Go Bo Diddley.
Offline
I have been thinking of decorating with a fine tip poker-work machine and burning the design into the bamboo.
Kel.
Offline
dstone wrote:
Or here's the other end of the spectrum. I find this one a bit creepy.
http://shaku8.tosaint.com/attachment/TZD1131052516.jpg
Not the least because the 4th hole is way to high and there's no blowing edge.
Or maybe the person who lovingly displayed and photographed it put the flute together backwards.
James
Offline