"Catfish"
(7" x 4") stoneware, "Snake Ocarina" (4"
diameter) stoneware, "Sea Horse" (10" x 4")
stoneware.
(Click
on the above thumbnails to see a larger image.)
K.
Dunster creates ocarinas (also known as "clay whistles" or
"sweet potatoes") in a variety of shapes. She likes
to make whimsical animal shapes for her ocarinas, but also has more
"traditional" ocarina shapes. She works in stoneware
and earthenware. Each ocarina is created by individually by hand.
She
has created a "Fish" series of ocarinas, her most popular
series. She first came up with the "Catfish" ocarina,
(an obvious play on words) and decided to expand her series to other
animals. The "Sea Horse" was an early addition
to her "fish" series, then came other animal-fish ocarinas,
like the "Harefish" and the "Dogfish".
She
has also expanded her "Lentil" series. The "Snake
Ocarina" (pictured above) is one of these series. She creates
an ocarina in the shape of a rather fat lentil, and then adds some sort
of surface decoration.
"Bazoomarina"
(6" long) stoneware, "My Fianc?" (4" long)
(Both
these ocarinas can be worn around the neck, on a cord.)
Other
amusing (irreverant---bizarre, you decide!) designs are the "Bazoomarina"
and "My Fianc?". Both these ocarina designs have a rich
history behind them. The "Bazoomarina" evolved
from a nice mermaid sculpture she did, and was a big hit among cops
and sailors and other such clientele. "My Fianc?"
was inspired by a little lapel pin that we found in a truck stop in
Barstow, CA. It was a picture of a happy, grinning, Cyclops
mohawk guy, and the comment was made, "Tell everyone it is a picture
of your fianc?!" Somehow, an ocarina was needed to memorialize
"My Fianc?".
Each
ocarina is carefully tuned with the help of an electronic tuner.
They are in tune with themselves, They may not be in the key of a perfect
middle C, for instance, because the arbitrary shrinking of clay in the
kiln alters the key that the ocarina was in when it was made out of
the moist clay. Since each ocarina is in tune with itself, it
can play lovely melodies, but may not be in the same key as other ocarinas,
or other instruments. Most ocarinas have an octave range. (The
main exception is the "Bazoomarina", which plays 3 notes.)
K.
uses a five finger-hole octave method for her clay whistles, rather
than the more widely-used four finger hole octave, because this allows
her to use smaller finger holes in her work, which she prefers for design
reasons.
Each
ocarina comes with a fingering chart, and also tells what key (for instance,
F#) the ocarina is in.
K.
is currently is not taking any specific orders for ocarinas. She
will soon resume selling her ocarinas via her web site. Right now she
is concentrating on honing new ocarina-making skills. However, she sometimes
sells her ocarinas on eBay. Check her eBay
auction listing, to see if she is currently selling anything.
If
you have any other ocarina-related questions (that are not related to
wanting to possibly buy an ocarina) please contact the webmaster.
http://www.geocities.com/bearsclover/pottery.html
K. and J.R.'s pottery page on Geocities. See some more
excellent examples of K.'s work. (Not all ocarina designs
are still available for sale, however.)
See
some more examples of K. Dunster's ocarinas on the pottery site
she shares with her sister. Greenverdugo.com
- it has lots more ocarina photos!
Buy
Janet Monoit's "Clay Whistles" book on Amazon.com.
(K. heartily recommends this book.)
http://www.clayz.com
A wonderful ocarina site! Great clay whistles, links, and
info about ocarinas.
