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Gary A
Lokahi
USA
169 Posts |
 Posted - 04/26/2005 : 7:56:16 PM
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I ran into Carey Camacho at Patrick's Open Mic and it reminded me that I ought to write a review of an Ipu-heke making workshop that I took from Carey last year.
The one day workshop was held at the Caning Shop in Berkeley. The Caning Shop is an incredible place for all your gourd-related needs  . They sell gourds, gourd tools, gourd dyes, gourd books, etc. They also publish books.
They publish a book on building Hawaiian instruments that is excellent - well written, well researched and nicely illustrated with full color photos printed on glossy paper:
http://www.caning.com/tourpages/tour_11.html
If you have any interest in Hawaiian instruments you should get the book! I also have the gourd instrument and gourd craft books they publish. They are also very well done, high quality books.
It was a very good class. Carey is a very good teacher. He definitely has the Hawaiian spirit and he's respectful of the fact that he's part of a long oral tradition of ipu making.
The workshop went very smoothly. Almost everyone had a finished ipu by the end of the day. All the tools and materials were provided including the gourds. The building processing is pretty straightforward. You can buy the book and do it yourself. However, it was nice having an experienced teacher to make "judgement calls" when performing steps such as scraping the gourds. Unlike a lot of other "build-it-yourself" projects, the cost of the workshop was about the same as what you'd pay to buy an ipu.
Here's my ipu:
All in all, it was fun project with a nice group of people. If you ever get a chance to do it, I highly recommend it.
I noticed that the Caning Shop's schedule of upcoming classes is not up to date. I asked Carey about upcoming ipu classes. He said there are no upcoming ipu-heke classes scheduled, although he can always do one if there's a group of ten people who are interested.
EDIT: Fixed bad link.
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Gary |
Edited by - Gary A on 04/12/2006 4:33:27 PM |
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MahinaM
Lokahi
USA
389 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 05:09:25 AM
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Nice Ipu, Gary! I want to make one this summer, so this reference book will come in handy. Wish I lived in Berkeley so I can tak one of his classes!
Mahalo,
Maggie |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1025 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 07:05:09 AM
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| Good start and Nice Ipu - if you're ever in the southland, you have to meet with Slkho (Rik Nieves). He is the master. His are legitimate works of art and he has made hundreds (I'm guessing). I have one that he customized for me. He can show you the ropes. |
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Auntie Nancy
`Olu`olu
USA
593 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 11:28:00 AM
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Aloha e Maggie, you have to get out more!! I think that with this big ohana, you have to holo holo to kani ka pila!! and learn all those other cool things, and add to all the fun!!
see you in June!
n |
nancy cook |
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MahinaM
Lokahi
USA
389 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2005 : 7:19:47 PM
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I know, Auntie. I'm a slave to my work these days, but the gardens (and weeds along with) don't stop growing!!!! What I need to do is meet up with Rik and see his works of art one of these days. I'm sure I'll salivate and drool. I do need to make one of my own this year due to being in our halau's ipu heke rhythm group. I'm borrowing my kumu's ipu right now.
M |
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Gary A
Lokahi
USA
169 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2005 : 09:08:53 AM
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I gave my ipu a pretty basic finish. I applied carnauba wax and polished it to a slight gloss. It has a nice, natural look.
But, the body of the ipu is a blank canvas waiting to be decorated. You can certainly let your imagination run wild. At the workshop Carey did some simple, free-form ornamentation using a roto-zip tool to engrave it and leather dyes to color it. It's a good reason for making your own. |
Gary |
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Auntie Nancy
`Olu`olu
USA
593 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2005 : 11:41:11 AM
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Wait'll you guys see some of Rik's. Maybe he would post a couple pix sometime. They're gorgeous pieces of art and decorated the stage for Keola, John and Chris' concert in SD in Jan.
n |
nancy cook |
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Gary A
Lokahi
USA
169 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2005 : 1:57:21 PM
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For those of you in the Bay Area interested in making an ipu-heke, Carey is teaching another Ipu Making workshop at the Caning Shop in Feb 2006. Here's the schedule:
http://caning.com/current2005b.html
Like I said in my original post, it's a good class and a lot of fun. I'm tempted to make another one. |
Gary |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2005 : 1:38:34 PM
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Ipu?!!, what's an Ipu?
-slkho |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1025 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2005 : 04:40:32 AM
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| That's what they call those 200 things hanging in your garage. |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2005 : 1:41:49 PM
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...Well that explains why I'm continually bumping my head, when I get out of my car!
-slkho |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2005 : 2:11:42 PM
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It also 3explains why Zoom barks at night!
Those "heads" would scare a COW!
You got the makings of one good Halloween Scary Garage! |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2006 : 09:19:23 AM
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.... saaaaay, wasn't the same Ipu-heke picture you showed last year?
~slkho |
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