Method

I generally handbuild, though have sometimes used the wheel to throw shapes that I then construct as whistling vessels. 

Initially, I was focused on function and the air compression systems that make whistling vessels work best, and over time, my work has taken on increased sculptural aspects, as well as new textures and concepts, which I continue to develop. Maybe I’m becoming a real artist? What is a real artis? Nevermind.

Personal background

Born in Rome, Italy, I am neither very Italian, nor very Dutch. I first began building guitars with a master luthier here in Ecuador, Norberto Novik, but then took a ceramics class after a messy breakup and fell in love with clay. I was no longer getting laid, I was getting clayed. 

I studied Anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder and then International Development Studies at the University of Amsterdam. I’ve also been a musician for most of my life, playing guitar and singing. 

I moved to Ecuador in 2012 (10 years ago) to salvage a relationship. This was another instance where I fell in love with an activity/object versus a person; I fell in love with Ecuador and have been living here since. 

When I’m not building inca whistling vessels or teaching people how to make an ocarina, I’m organizing and assisting at ayahuasca retreats in Ecuador through my website, almahealingcenter.com