Michelle Meister Martinez
Owner, Artist & Master Drum Maker
Almost thirty years ago when I started making drums, I discovered that my passion is creating life from death and sound from silence. I am quiet but engaged, scientific but mystical, fascinated with life and always learning. I am passionate about social justice and politically progressive. When my business is fully established, my dream is to start teaching crafting and business start-up skills to street kids.
I read a lot. I am fascinated by the things that make people tick; subjects I have studies most in my life are archaeology, cultural anthropology, history, symbolism & mythology. I love to cook, to me food is love. I do a number of different arts and enjoy every one. I love all kinds of music. I try to get outdoors and listen to the creatures and the trees at every opportunity. I am in a long-term committed relationship with another artist (Luke Martinez) who feeds my soul. UPDATE: We were legally handfasted on May 29, 2022. Go us!
I have been a drum maker for many years. I learned to make drums working with Patrick Pinson at Cedar Mountain Drums off and on for almost 15 years before leaving to start Gaia’s Workshop. While I have studied and have much respect for the teachings of the various Native American tribes and have many friends who follow the "Good Red Road", I was an outsider because my path is European Pagan. It took me doing research about the indigenous past of my European ancestors to figure out why I love drum making as much as I do. I discovered that they lived in ways that were very similar to Native people in America, and had similar spiritual practices -- no wonder the Native American ways had felt so familiar. When I discovered the traditional shamanic drums of Northern Europe on a site in Denmark, I was fascinated & inspired. This led to me leaving Cedar Mountain Drums in 2013 to pursue creating something beyond the traditional -- something birthed from my own sacred ways.
My practice is solitary & eclectic at this time. I have studied (and continue to work with) Runes & other Symbolic Systems, Elemental energies, Plant energies, Color Vibration, Individual Deities & Dreams. I have been a Wiccan High Priestess with a teaching coven and a Girl Scout leader. I am a Cancer.