PHOTO GALLERY

On this page you will see photographs of harps built by myself and my family.

"Claire"

This harp is one of a number of semi-finished kits I put together for a harp building class in spring 2008 while I still lived in Las Vegas, NV.  This is one I completed myself and hand-painted.  I intended to use it for a student rental harp, but instead sold it to a new student in Flagstaff.  This harp is named "Claire" after actress Claire Trevor, another pretty blonde! 


"The Beast"
 
"The Beast" may seem like a strange name for a harp on a Christian website, but the only thing Apocalyptic about this harp is the artwork.  The Beast is definitelty NOT named after the one in Revelations!!!
I named this harp the way I did because it is my "Wild Child".  I used designs, techniques and artwork on this harp that I had never tried before.  I decided one day to see if I could build a harp out of all of the junk wood in my woodworking shop and this harp is the result.  Another example of "Anybody can do anything" with a little help from a friend....Jesus!
The harp's name comes from Peace in the Valley: "And the Beast of the Wild shall be led by a child, And I'll be changed from this creature that I am".
Everytime I look at this harp, I am reminded of God's saving and transforming love.  He takes us as sinners, poor pitiful heaps of humanity without, so it seems, much hope for our future.  And then, by His grace alone, we are transformed into something beautiful: His Chosen People, His Church, His Saints, who will live with Him forever.  WOW!!!  The Father really does love His Children!
So what does the Apocalypse have to do with this harp?  If you look at the artwork VERY CAREFULLY and take a look in the book of Revelations, you'll see: the sun has gone black and the moon is blood-red, with stars falling from the sky (Rev. 6: 12-13).  The crest on the shield of the Crusader Knight (Rev. 19:11)?  Jesus Christ Conquers! 

Baroque-Style Lever Harp

I designed and built this harp to look like an early single-action pedal harp.  You can hear this harp on "The Sounds of the Harp" page on this site. 

Therapy Harp

I built this 22-string harp to be a travel companion to my Venus pedal harp.  Its small stature belies its big, beautiful voice.  This is a great favourite of mine for volunteer Music Relaxation Therapy days when I play at multiple locations.  

The Therapy Harp and the Baroque Lever Harp are both decorated with soundboard artwork depicting The Allegory of the Church, designed after a painting in an early Roman church.  In it, we see the Holy Spirit sending to earth through the Cross the Living Word of God the Father: our Savior Christ.  The blessings of His Grace flow to us through the Water of Life offered by Christ and shown flowing from the Cross.  We see the Faithful depicted both as sheep and as stags drinking from this Water, and we also see them sheltered behind the Gates of Paradise, which are being gaurded by an Angel of the Lord.

The Silk Purse
  
You can make a Silk Purse out of a sow's ear!  
This harp is and isn't my first harp.  It is what was left after my first harp self-destructed.  It was sold to me by an unscrupulous individual who told me that it was a barely-used student rental harp and she would sell it to me at a DISCOUNT!  Guess what?  It was about ten years old, which I found out after calling the factory when its neck broke due to age and poor construction.
Well, I made it a new neck, constructed a solid poplar soundboard which I put on the original body, reconfigured the pillar, and refinished and decorated it.
The moral of the story?  Caveat Emptor and make lemonade out of the lemons life sends your way!


A Herd of Harps
 
BEWARE!!!  Harp building is addictive!  Harps are like potato chips: you can't have just one!!!
All of the harps pictured above were built/rebuilt by my Husband and myself (with the exception of the Blevins "Encore" at the far right: an EXCELLENT harp!).
Back Row, L-R: Rhodie II, built 2001; the Silk Purse, rebuilt 2002; Rhodie I, built 2000
Front Row, L-R: Fish Harp, built 2001; First Harp, built 1999

Becky Harps

These harps, pictured above and below, belong to my good friend, Becky.  The Black one was the third harp we built (late 1999/early2000).  I gave it to her so that she could enjoy learning to play the harp.  The white one, which sha named "Celtic Rose", was built by Becky with my technical support.  She painted it and decorated it with the beautiful rose patterns.



The Goth Kids

The original student harps from the first St. Timothy's Summer Folk Harp Camp (2006).  These plain but functional babies were built with cost, size, and range in mind.  They had to be inexpensive because I had to build five of them.  They had to be able to fit in most passenger vehicles, and they had to have enough range for students to learn to play with both hands.  They fit the bill all around!