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David Cureton first became interested
in instrument making in 1980, when he encountered a dulcimer maker and later a
concert harp maker, while living and building timber frame houses on Saltspring Island in British Columbia,
Canada.
"For me, my time on Saltspring
solidified my lifelong attraction to wood and its manipulation."
In 1988, he was trained in the
traditional Spanish method of acoustic guitar building at Douglas College in New
Westminster, BC. He established a studio in Vancouver in 1990, where he began building and repairing acoustic stringed instruments.
"I enjoy the challenge
of making different custom instruments. It appeals to both the inquisitive and
spiritual part of my brain. Building instruments is the alchemical facet
of woodworking and the interface point between the natural marvels of wood,
the intuition of the builder and the nuances of the musician. My
practice is an amalgam of traditional and contemporary woodworking techniques,
intuition and the laws of physics. I strive for a well balanced instrument
that is both striking in sound and appearance. Hand work is a meditation."
David Cureton received an award for the
design of the Kootenay Harp, an instrument fashioned from local British Columbia
woods, at
"Out of the Woods 2000," the Fifth Annual Kootenay Value Added Wood
Forum. In 2001, he was a presenter at the Tone Wood Conference sponsored by
Island Mountain Arts in Wells, BC.
In 2003, David Cureton moved
his practice to Ontario near the town of Gravenhurst (1.5 hours north of
Toronto) where he continues his pursuit of fine craftsmanship and good music.
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