Ocarina Art

ocarina: a simple wind instrument typically having an oval body with finger holes and a projecting mouthpiece.

I can't recall when I first learned about ocarinas. . . it was some years ago, long before avid Nintendo video game players of Zelda heard about this instrument when playing Ocarina of Time. Although this picture of the Zelda ocarina is a typical shape for ocarinas, they can be made in various shapes and in various materials such as wood, plastic, glass, metal and clay. The making of ocarinas dates back some 12,000 years.

I picked up my first ocarina at the Renaissance Festival from a very talented ceramic artist, and since I've purchased half a dozen from various artists in all shapes and sizes. My favorite, which John gave me for Christmas 2009, is ceramic in the shape of a hippo by Lucy Grantz

It got me to thinking, "Hey, I wonder if I could make an ocarina out of clay." John expressed interest in making one, too, so off to Wet Paint art materials to purchase some air-drying clay. I don't have access to a kiln, so air-drying clay is my best option at the moment.

I searched the web for instructions on how to make one, and I found an interesting site in which a middle-school teacher had her students each make their own animal ocarinas. The instructions sounded so easy, but it isn't as easy as it looks! Her link is at the end of this page, along with other links I found helpful in ocarina making from clay. The hardest part is getting the sound . . . any sound at all, which I will explain later.

But first below are pictures of the 4 ocarinas I've made thus far, and 2 that John has made.

Peep Ocarina: This started out as a rat, but it wasn't working as a flute, so it ended up looking somewhat like a bird. It has one small note hole on top, so it can make 2 sounds. I lost the sound when it first dried, so later I refilled the inside airhole, filed down the sound hole ramp a bit, and I got the sound back.

Humberto: Humberto is John's first attempt at making an ocarina. His was to be a bear . . .I affectionately think of it as a bear with a pig face. After John made the sound hole, we both decided there was no good place to put an airway to the sound hole, so he covered up the hole, and named him Humberto, the bear who can only hum.

Face Ocarina: After Peep, I decided to use one of my boughten ocarinas as a guide for making the airhole and airway, and I was successful in getting a better sound on this second ocarina-making attempt. The two sound holes in back ended up looking like eyes, and the airhole like a mouth, thus a face of sorts.

Zelda: Zelda is thus far my best sounding ocarina. I learned a lot about getting a good sound by the making of her. Click on her picture to see the steps I took to create her.

Hotep: Hotep is John's second ocarina. He started making a turtle, but the shape was too flat, and I told him it would never work as a flute. So, then he tried to make a Christmas tree, same result. By then John was getting frustrated and ready to quit, but I wouldn't let him. He said, "how about I make it in the shape of a flute?" I told him that might work. Once the flute shape was done, I told him he had to add a mouthpiece for the airway. When he added that, he exclaimed, "It looks like a sarcophogus!" He was quite happy with that result and decided to paint it when the clay had dried. At that time, it had no sound, and he said he didn't care, but I was determined to get a sound out of it. So after he painted it with acrylics, and I sprayed it with acrylic coating to protect the paint, I reworked the airway and sound ramp, and now Hotep can play a note. However, I told John if I couldn't get it to make a note, he could always say that Hotep makes no sound because the dead do not speak.

Lorina: Lorina the rat is perhaps my favorite of the ocarinas I've made thus far. Her notes are not quite as nice sounding as Zelda's, but she sings okay. Her nose is the mouthpiece and her sound and note holes are on her back.

Some Helpful Links to Ocarina Making: Making of an Ocarina Ocarina Making Tutorial (12-hole) I especially would love to make an ocarina using this tutorial, one with all the notes on the scale . . . some day, maybe! Make A Clay Ocarina LEAP Activity: Make an Aztec clay animal flute Aviva Meyers Thurston Middle School I love this site! But I'm dumbfounded on how a middle-school teacher was able to get all of her students to make ocarinas in one class session successfully. I thinks she is a very patient and good teacher! The Making of a Zelda Ocarina This is a cool video showing step-by-step how the Zelda ocarinas are made.

Below is a picture of the ocarinas I have purchased over the years from places such as the Renaissance Festival, various art crawls, Grand Hand Gallery and Ten Thousand Villages. The "JC" ocarina has the best sound and range of notes. Lucy the hippo also has a very nice tone.

or