Here I will try to answer some of the commonly asked questions. Feel free to contact me if you need more information.

I thought you loved animals. How can you be using them to make things?  I was raised in the woods and have a very close relationship with plants and animals. From the time I was about four years old, I started rescuing every creature who needed help. I can remember tending to a baby mouse my grandmother found in her kitchen, or helping baby rabbits whose mother was killed. I have tended to many dozens of injured birds, a baby skunk and have assisted countless animals in birthing their young. I've shared my home with horses, mules, sheep, pigeons, parrots, dogs, cats, hamsters, turkeys, rabbits, reptiles, and the list goes on. So saying I like animals is probably an understatement. It's also the reason people find it odd that I'm okay with using an animal hide to craft a drum or make another creation.  My belief is that we must have respect, reverence and gratitude for Creation's gifts. I honor each animal's spirit, whether it is living or dead. I also believe that it is possible to honor the animal by letting it live on in a tool like I create, that is intended for spiritual purposes, such as healing and ceremony. I do not believe the animal should be killed to satisfy this purpose. I do not approve of killing animals for sport. Yet, I feel that when an animal has given his life, whether it has been hunted for the purpose of food, or hit by a car, it should be honored by using all that we can of the gifts it has given to us.  By creating a spiritual tool that honors the animal, I feel we can connect with that animal's energy and gifts it had to offer us.

Where do you get your animal hides? The animal hides I use are primarily from hunters who have used the animal for meat to feed their families. Most hunters only take the meat and the rest of the animal is discarded. As I stated above, I believe in using every part that we can of the gift given to us by this animal. Hides can be finished as rawhide to create beautiful drums and rattles. Or they can be tanned to make usable buckskin and leather for crafting. Hooves can be used for rattles, as well as teeth and bones. Sinew can be used to craft as well. Many area hunters now bring their hides to me instead of discarding them. It's hard and messy work, but I actually enjoy working with a hide from this stage. It connects you to the animal it came from. I offer gratitude and thanks to the animal as I process the hide. I have a few reputable sources that I purchase hides from as well. They are family run businesses that obtain their hides from hunters in their areas. This is how I obtain hides such as Elk and Moose that are not here in the Finger Lakes region of NY. The horse hides that I've worked with have all been from horses that passed from natural deaths. For this reason, they are not as plentiful as something like White Tailed Deer that is widely hunted across the country.

Where do you get some of your other crafting items? Sometimes I craft with feathers and wings. Many of these are also from animals that were used for food (such as pheasants and turkeys). Some of these were from roadkill. I use a lot of sticks and stones in my creations. These are fun to find. I wander the woods and actually ask and put the energy out as I wander, "who wants to be used in a creation?" Sometimes it's evident that a stick wants to be used, and other times I hear a clear, "NO! Leave me here."  I live in the Finger Lakes region, and beautiful sticks wash up on shore of our lakes constantly, as does sand glass and other unique things. We also live in a Beaver rich area, so Beaver sticks are a fun item to work with.  I have sticks, stones, and other gifts from nature all about my house. I will never run out of projects and ideas. After awhile, if I haven't used an item, I see if it still feels right to hold on to it. If not, I return it back to the land. 

What kind of hide is best for my drum? That answer is different for each individual. I'd be happy to consult with you privately to help you figure this out. When I work on a custom drum for someone and they feel comfortable letting me choose for them, I often lay out several different hides. I then journey and ask which hide to use for this individual and their intended purpose.

Each animal offers up a very unique and individual energy and medicine. No two hides, even of the same species are the same. They vary in energy and they vary in appearance and texture. Here are some generalized statements about hides:

• White tailed deer hide is often thinner. Because of this, its sound is more likely to vary depending on the weather. You can work with this. You can gently warm the drum over a fire or with hair dryer to tighten it back up. Or you can spray it with water to make the tone go lower.
• Buffalo is generally thicker. It tends to hold its tone better with less variance. It can be a better drum for use in a sweat lodge where thinner hides on a drum will sound flat fast.
• Mule deer hide is somewhere in between buffalo and white tailed deer. It can offer up a hide as thick as a buffalo or very delicate and thin. It often has really unique coloration to the hide.
• Elk is also somewhere between buffalo and white tailed deer for thickness. It tends to hold its sound well.
• Moose is thick. It's typically used for big powwow style / community drums.
• Bear is typically quite thin. It can be hard to get a section of hide thick enough to make a larger hand drum. It's coloration is usually very unique.
• Horse can also vary a lot in thickness. If the drum is made from the thicker areas of the hide, it can offer less variance in sound. It's color is usually darker and lovely.