Meander with Bernard Funston

My friend Bernie is eclectic – now retired constitutional law expert born in Canada’s far north whose hobby is handmade guitars. He’s still got his first guitar, bought at the age of 13 with money made from selling his own paintings, landscapes from his childhood in the far north. Guitars have been in his heart for his whole life and about twenty years ago he was able take up the hobby of building them, made possible by the suggestion of his three kids, then under the age of ten, and the support of his lovely wife, and fellow lawyer, Laura. Bernie says he’s made guitars for dictators and democrats, and he’s not kidding. I’ll leave that story to him. His work is wonderful, and guitars are made specific to the customer, reflecting their personalities, not just their specifications. He makes guitars with spirit, from wood specially chosen for the purpose, creating a musical instrument that sighs and sings as the artist wends their way into magic-making. That’s a special skill, that is. I hope you enjoy this episode of Meanderings with Trudy. Episode links:Chapman Coaching Inc.Funston GuitarsGuitar clip from Bernie’s site of Ottawa musician Al Brown testing one of Bernie’s creationsAllen Sapp, Indigenous artist from North Battleford Saskatchewan is the artist that inspired 13 year old Bernie to paintBernie mentioned listening to music as a child on legendary radio station 89 WLS in Chicago IL from his home in the North West Territories using “ionospheric bounce” Bernie apprenticed with renowned luthier Sergei de Jonge, in Chelsea, Quebec – see video for interviewTo learn about Louis Riel…Alex Cuba and Canada C3 song “River of Nations”Royalty free music is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-HumaPlease send thoughts and comments to meanderingswithtrudy@gmail.com