S"il vous plait
Philip Smith
So, it's been a while between posts but the story remains basically the same. Still cello making but loads of progress has been made.
Cello No. 6 is being varnished and is beautiful. This one is a lighter colour than the others. Golden yellow with a coat or two of warm brown have made this honey glow. Funny stuff varnish, you never know quite how its going to turn out. Its part of the alchemy that goes into the complete instrument and its bloody hard work to get it right.
Plans for the trip to France stalled until contact was made with
master archetier, who has willingly agreed to take me on for four weeks of training in the art of the French bow. How exciting! Such an honour to be learning from such a master craftsman. Next April is the planned departure time.
It was very daunting but great to speak to Jean Luc. The conversation highlighted the need to get some French language skills together. The Tasmanian accent was a challenge for him. Not sure how far " Je m'appelle Phillippe." will take me. There is a story about a friend of a friend who went around Paris with the simple request - " S'il vous plait pie?" ( with the 'pie' pronounced 'poy'). Not sure how far he got with that.
Cello No. 7 is in a collection of parts but will be taken on its own unique identity very shortly.
