In September I finished the violin pictured below for a member of Canada’s National Art Centre Orchestra. It was based on the Guarneri violin, made in 1744 in Cremona and played by Norwegein violinist Ole Bull. The wood for the back of this violin was made from an old piece of maple that I was fortunate to find at the workshop of a retiring violin maker. He was kind enough to let me look through all his wood and this was one of the pieces I bought.

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Note: The shape of my copy was constructed around a form I used previously to make a classic 1742 Guarneri model. To create the new outline for the ‘Ole Bull’ violin and in particular the squarish shape of the upper and lower bouts – I carved the corner blocks proud of the form so the ribs wouldn’t follow my form but followed the shape of the original ‘Ole bull’ violin that I was aiming for. It was a practical approach to make a new violin design, without making a new form and a technique that perhaps Guarneri himself could have used.