Wanda L. De Coteau

you can judge the length from the yardstick

from top Left to Right

These Rattles each are hand held & can be held in several ways- if you hold them so the “tympanic membrane/rawhide is covered with your thumb the sound is muted
uncovered the sound is louder
these are well suited for indoor use & may be used in areas where noise is an issue

Top Left- Cow hoof: I was in a silly mood and decided to experiment with a few cow hooves & scrap rawhide
these each are hand held & can be held in several ways
if you hold it so the “tympanic membrane/rawhide is covered with your thumb the sound is muted
uncovered the sound is louder
these are well suited for indoor use & may be used in areas where noise is an issue

the shaker bits are a minimum of 1 optical quartz stone chip, white sage (California White and/or Artemesia), and and golden tan washed gravel
the shell rattles all have the Umbonium shells for the main shaker bits
the tymapnum/rawhide is transparent enough to see the
shaker bits $10 ea

Lower Left- Quahog shells larger or smaller
with black suede accents
due to the thickness of the shell walls these are decidedly “personal” rattles and rather quiet- fine for “Hospital Quiet” settings I have sealed the shells with a coat of undiluted Weldbond
these are nice “palm” shakers
$6.50 & $10 ea

Top Center
Medium & Larger Cowrie shells

I did a simple treatment- making the tympanum from a goatskin drum head that had split
with a simple deerskin band
I sealed the typanum & band with Weldbond

the Cowries range in price from $7.50 to $15

Center Bottom
Conch shell (from East Lyme- made scungilli in sauce from the conchs)

lake all the “spiral” shells if you rattle “correctly” it is possible to get the shaker bit to work into the middle of the shell- and then back out
the closer to the surface layer the bits are the louder the sound
the narrow end can almost serve as a handle by itself
Conch – $17.50

Right side- moon shells
$15 to $17

plus S&H

for my drum beaters and rattles:
the white birch is mostly from a storm downed tree in Stonington & a few pieces from Groton
Sassafras is from Bozrah, Ct
There is also some Flowering Crab & Pink Forsythia (a shrub)
Occasional Rhododendron & Eponymous

the Black birch is Groton, or Stonington