I guess it has finally taken me long enough to get around to part two! This week I went in search of inspiration for percussion and drum making from a different source: architecture. My journey brought me to the Miller House in Columbus Indiana. Columbus has fantastic architecture from Art Deco to Mid-Century Modern scattered throughout the city. One of the most prominently known designs is the Miller house by Eero Saairinen. I have long been a fan of modern design and seeing a recent tv commerical for the Dodge Dart made me think about design in a different way. The ad describes designing a dashboard for the car, but rather than looking at other car interiors, they chose to look at design magazines and fashion for inspiration. I think this is a unique way to look at problem solving and quite often I find inspiration or ideas for a problem when working outside of the realm of that problem.
A quote by Saairinen made me re-think design as well. Saairinen stated “Always design a thing by considering it in its larger context: a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.” This made me think about instrument building and design on a similar level. Could the design be just as inspiring as the player? Does it inspire the player every time it is played or looked at?
Nature is a large part of the home, which is situated on 13 acres of land. The Tulips in blossom are incredible! 
Deer, raccoons and even red foxes run through the property. The home really blends civilization and nature together in a way that neither disrupts each other.
What design or designer inspires you?
