Artem Repin’s hand-carved flutes are sleek, polished works of art in African mahogany, curly maple, black walnut or other exotic wood. They fit easily into your hand, and they have a soul – at least, so it seems when you hear the melancholy sounds that pour out of them when they are played. Repin, who lives and works on a farm in New Paltz, is just one of the 230 exhibitors at this year’s Woodstock-New Paltz Art and Crafts Fair, held at the Ulster County fairgrounds on May 26, 27 and 28.
Repin, who moved to the Hudson Valley four months ago from Pennsylvania, has been making flutes for four years. He sells the instruments on his website, www.artemrepin.com, along with his sculpture. Repin crafts two kinds of flutes: drone flutes, which essentially are two flutes in one (by blowing into the second hole, the player creates a droning sound accompanying the piped melody, similar to bagpipes); and single-chamber flutes. He also makes customized instruments. One commission was a flute for a young woman recovering from heart surgery designed as a physical therapy tool, which incorporated the girl’s color preferences, birthstone and favorite animal in its design. Repin said that making art is natural to him, since he grew up in a creative family. His father is an artist, and his grandfather “was always creating something, working with wood or painting.”
After immigrating to the US at age 16 from the Ukraine, Repin became fascinated by Native American culture: an interest that inspired him to take a flute-making class as a part of the Native American Flute Festival in Utah. Another formative influence was a documentary on that Japanese shakuhachi flute he saw when still in his early teens. The flute, he said, “touched my soul. Maybe I was a flutist in my past life.” He said that his flutes are designed for meditative purposes and for concerts small and large, and are very easy to play. They are tuned to 432Hz (unless the customer requests 440Hz, the tuning of modern instruments), which is called a “Pythagorean tuning” for its harmonic correspondence with universal forces. The tuning invests the sound with a warmth and richness. While 440Hz is heard by the mind, 432Hz is felt by the heart and body, Repin said.
He also makes his flutes in nine keys, ranging from the high-pitched 18 ½-inch flute in the key of C to the deeper-sounding, 30-inch flute in the key of D minor. “Flute keys represent e-motions: energy in motion,” Repin said.
Scott Rubinstein, co-director of the Crafts Fair, said that another highlight of this spring’s event is the free-form Adirondack-style furniture crafted by young New Paltz-based artisan Preston Manganaro. The show also features more photographers than in the past, including several who are nationally known and travel the country and world for their compelling images. They include David Reade, who specializes in deserts and national parks; Ted Schiffman, a contributor to National Geographic who shoots wildlife and dramatic nature scenes; Richard Nelridge, who has captured the wilderness of Alaska and the mountains of the West; and David Maynard, who photographs showcase Irish castles, Greek villages and the canals of Venice.
Tickets cost $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, and admission is free for children age 12 and under. For more information, visit www.quailhollow.com.
Join the family! 
