It all started with a cigar box guitar I made with no intentions of taking the craft any further than just wanting to make something fun to play, but ended up, only a few years later, having Melissa Etheridge’s signature on a unique acoustic guitar I built for myself!
This creative drive has been stirring inside me as far back as I can remember; making paper mache penguins in 5th grade; becoming a professional wedding and portrait photographer; and more recently, a home improvement contractor. There has been no end to my thirst for art and all its glorious forms of expression and am truly grateful for the many talents I posses.
It must have been during a distracted moment that I discovered cigar box guitars on the internet. It was love at first sight and I haven’t looked back since. I built one, then another, and another. I have created many instruments, each one uniquely different from the previous ones. The sound a cigar box guitar produces is so unique and fun! I was totally fascinated by the concept of an art form that included both woodworking and music, two of my greatest passions.
During a search to obtain lessons to further my woodworking skills, I came across a school which taught acoustic guitar building – John Whiteside of North Road Guitars, in Fremont, New Hampshire, has been a tremendous mentor and inspiration on this guitar building journey. Without his patience and instruction, I might not have continued down this path of incredible ability.
So, I designed and built an acoustic guitar to my liking. I even had Melissa Etheridge sign the back plate before it was assembled so it could be viewed through the sound hole! This turned out to be an amazing art piece, not to mention the insane quality of sound it produces for its dimensions (Thanks to John for his unique bracing patterns).
Each guitar I build, acoustic or cigar box, continues the tradition as a one-of-a-kind art piece worthy of playing or collecting. My goal is to get my guitars into as many talented musician’s worthy hands as possible so they can experience the beauty and complexity of these fine instruments.
Who knows, maybe yours?
Love and peace,
Gloria
Special thanks to Kelly Neff of Fort Myers, Florida (https://www.kellyneff.com) and Tanya and Tia Dmuchowski (Stormstress of Boston) AKA:Venom and Mayhem (https://www.facebook.com/venomandmayhem), for having the courage to play a guitar they never held before during each of their live performances!
(They loved it, by the way!)