On my first bowl-shaped gourd, I used a skin which I had removed from a small Southwest Indian cottonwood drum. It was the same size and had already been formed into scallops along the edge so I used larger tack-headed nails to affix it. In keeping with the Indian theme I inlaid a new Lewis and Clark nickel with the peace medal motif at the base of the neck. The gourd has a traditional African spiral motif which would not have been out of place on either continent. NFS [You can hear it on my CD, track 1.]

Another totemic peg head banjer, this time a horse, in beautiful spalted red maple. The gourd is an unusual variant on the pear shape, looking something like a giant top. It has an elegant, deep sound. $500. [You can hear it on my CD, track 11.]