PAMELA MORTENSEN

Hello Everyone!

It's been awhile since I've written anything!

It’s the end of July and Summer is still flying high. It's been an intense time with traveling, creating, and exploring so many possibilities in life right now. I just returned from a whirlwind, two-week trip to Oregon where I did some of my first dispersed camping on the Central Oregon Coast. It was a beautiful time spent listening to one of my favorite birds – Swainson’s thrush – and watching the ocean waves from my van while having breakfast. It was also a time to reconnect with so many friends and with Oregon itself. A few years ago, I sought to make Oregon my home and spent time living in places, trying them out and seeing where I would like to lay down roots. But sometimes where you intend to live is different than where your soul really wants to be. I felt this very strongly when I saw the Olympic Mountains rise above the clouds on the way back from my trip. It was as if they were welcoming me home.

It’s the end of July and Summer is still riding high. It's been an intense time with traveling, creating, and exploring so many possibilities in life. I just returned from a whirlwind two-week trip to Oregon where I did some of my first dispersed camping on the Central Oregon Coast. It was a beautiful time spent listening to one of my favorite birds – Swainson’s thrush – and watching the ocean waves from my van while having breakfast. (Yes, this was the view from my van from my parking spot!) 😲

It was also a time to reconnect with so many friends and with Oregon itself. I went to many of the places I've been before to revisit them and to new places to explore. It felt so good to reconnect with the land and its energies. It felt healing in so many ways. I want to share with you a few photos of some of the places old and new I visited while I was there.

Otter Crest

With my beautiful sister and musician Tati

With my other beautiful sister and mom to be Harmony

With my beautiful sister and life artist Maggie

Fire dancing celebrating the grand opening of my friend Tyler's new venue

Alsea Bay BridgeSpencer Butte (Eugene)

At the top (2000 foot elevation gain)

From the top looking northeast across the Willamette Valley.From the top looking south

Laying down roots and obligitory forest shots

Performing at Flutestock Lite. 

At Mulkey Ridge (Corvallis) - One of my places of healing.

Some of you know that several years ago, I sought to make Oregon my home and spent time living in different places, trying them out and seeing where I would like to lay down roots. But sometimes where you intend to live is different than where your soul really wants to be. I felt this very strongly when I saw the Olympic Mountains (in Washington State) rise above the clouds on the way back from my trip. It was as if they were welcoming me home. 

I’ve been living on the Olympic Peninsula now for almost two years and it’s beginning to feel like my roots are being laid here. I know my soul is really longing to settle somewhere and the North Coast is feeling more like home than anywhere right now. Perhaps because I've been here for awhile. Still, I feel I would like to be with my tribe in Oregon so I haven’t quite given up the idea of living there yet. In the meantime, I will keep traveling, making music, writing blogs, creating videos and making an occasional didgeridoo.

I’ve been back from Oregon now for a few days and for the last two days, I’ve been working on finishing up some songs while starting others. Yesterday, I made this song that I'm calling "Drift" for now. It came to me during breakfast and it perfectly sums up how I’m feeling with all of the intense change and explorations of where to head next in life. There’s a bit of longing for me in this song but there is also the feeling of moving forward in light even though a final destination is yet to be determined. It reflects the possibilities and the importance of being still in order to recenter and find a way. I hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as I did making it. I’m working on a video of my travels and of life in general and I’m sure this song will find its way into mix somewhere. I will let you know when I’ve uploaded it. For now, it’s back to editing so I can finish it and share it with all of you. 

Be well and happy and stay amazing! 

Much love

Pam

Whew! I’m back online after a whirlwind couple of weeks. June has been exceptionally busy with wrapping up projects and starting new projects but the biggest thing is beginning a new chapter in my life that will have me lving and working from my van at least for the summer, perhaps longer. This is partly to see sights and fulfil bucket list items but it’s also with the intention of finding space. In my experience, finding what you need is a matter of putting your shoes on and just going outside to see what’s available. It can also be simply drawing what you need to you but in this case, I think I need to go outside, so I’ve been converting my van into a living and work space. Much of the work is done and I’m sure there will be adjustments along the way but the idea is to have a decent work space where I can have a small mobile studio in addition to a living space. It’s a tall order for being in a mini van but I think for now, I’ve got it. 

It’s helped a lot to have had practice time throughout this pandemic. For the past year, I’ve been sleeping, eating and working in the van (I’ve named Ruby) to work out the details in space issues. What I’ve come up with is a modular approach where many things are foldable and can serve dual (or even triple) functions. Taking this approach has also kept things simple which is something that my singular mind really appreciates. It also helps to have a massive storage cargo box on top for didgeridoos, camp gear etc. 

So, just what are the plans for the summer? My number one goal is to find space to start building on my dream of having my own music studio. I’ve harboured this dream for about 40 years now and it’s time so I suspect I will mostly be driving between Oregon and Washington (in addition to looking on Craigslist etc.) to see what I can find. This will also allow me to see the places I haven’t been to and share the adventures I’m sure I will have along the way. Just to let you know, this is not some sudden fantasy trip that I dreamed up over the last couple of months. Let me tell this story. 

When I was eight or nine, my grandmother and her two cousins went on an eight month odyssey across the U.S. in a small Winnebego RV. They went partly to see family they hadn’t seen in years and partly to see sights. I remember getting postcards from my grandmother from places like Maine, Vermont, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon and it totally fired my imagination about being a traveler. What makes this story so cool is that these ladies did this at a time when women their age simply didn’t do things like that (this was back around 1971). I’ve never forgotten that and so I’m letting this story guide me into this next chapter of my own life. It’s exciting, exhilarating and a bit daunting (I’m not gonna lie) but I’m doing it anyway. I suspect I will be stretched, shaped, challenged, bumfuzzled, given lessons and ultimately thrown into gratitude on this journey. I’ve waited and I’m ready as I can be. I won’t lie, there is a pert of me that is trepid. It wouldn’t be normal if I didn’t feel this but the excitement far outweighs the trepidation. 

I will be posting here as this journey unfolds and I hope you will join me. It’s always more fun to have you along! Of course, I plan on continuing to make music, videos and tutorials along the way. The only thing I won’t be doing is making didgeridoos. I am putting that on hiatus for the summer in order to make space and time for new projects. With that said, here are some photos of the last didge for awhile. I will have it up for sale in a couple of days and will post it here when it’s ready for a new home. 

Thank you so much for reading this if you made it this far. I want to extend a special thanks to all of you who have contributed through my virtual tip jar and to my Patreon supporters. I know I sound like a broken record but I really couldn’t have done any of this without your support. Thank you!! 

Take care All. Stay happy, stay healthy and stay amazing! 

Much Love, Pam

At some point, you cross a threshold and become the artist you were born to be. When this happens, there’s a certain sweetness you can relax into and just let things flow the way they were meant to. This is what’s happening for me right now. 

It’s funny and somewhat confusing to be a musician these days. You’re told that you need to brand yourself, promote yourself, have a mission and purpose and engage in all the other businessy things to get your music out there to catch the industry’s eye. There are a million different ways to get yourself and your art out there to the world and there’s always a coach to help you in any one of those ways. Sometimes, it gets to a point where you don’t know which end is up and you get so wrapped around the axle over the business of music that it’s easy to forget about the artist. About a month ago, I finally had to put my foot down and shove the business stuff aside to dig through the rubble to find the artist. I’m glad I did because this reacquaintance is giving me a foundation to build on. 

For the past several years, I’ve adopted this magical forest gnome persona just to have something interesting to present to the world. There’s nothing wrong with that and I don’t regret this adoption. But at the same time, this particular shoe didn’t quite fit right either. I felt like I was faking it until my real artist was ready to come out. So just who IS my real artist? That’s a great question. I see her as enigmatic, defying all manner of genres, keeping things simple or throwing color all over the place, showing up when her hair is messy or showing up in androgynous dress. She is soft, primal, dark, light, dramatic, quiet, funny, reflective, shamanic and always in bliss when she is creating on her playground. And yes, that playful forest gnome is also in there. If this is my brand, I’ll take it! 

As I grow into this next version of being a musician and artist, I’m letting it reflect all over in my real world and online presence. Just yesterday, I pointed my camera at the wooden floor of the living room of the house I’m housesitting at and did a photoshoot. It satisfied the question I had of “what would it look like if I shot photos from above?” The photos looked exactly as I  imagined them and now they are showing up here on my site. 

This growth also means bringing some of the other instruments I play into the mix. Most of you may not know this but prior to my life as a didgeridoo player, keyboard had been the dominant force in my life. I played organ for 35 years and piano and synthesizer for nearly as long. I see keyboard as the perfect dichotomous match for didgeridoo and it seems fitting, since my inner artist seems to be made up of opposites anyhow. Where didgeridoo, satisfies the primal, shamanic side of me, playing keyboard satisfies the Old World part of me. Perhaps someday these two worlds will meet. I will definitely look forward to that. Until then, I will continue to create music without boundaries or worry about where it can fit within a industry that requires labels and tidy compartments. 

In the end, it’s been a somewhat arduous journey to get here but I’m content to stay in this vortex for a bit and see where it goes. As always, thank you for coming with me. Just like with a child, an artist needs her village as well. 

Take care all and stay amazing! 

Pam

Sixteen years ago this month, a walked into a used CD store in Seattle to find some music to listen to. At the time, I was really into the music of Dead Can Dance, Sheila Chandra and anything with a Middle Eastern beat. This time, I wanted to hear something different so I went to the world music section and looked in Australia. There were three CDs – one by Yothu Yindi (a legendary Aboriginal rock band), some singer songwriter and a CD by David Hudson ( a super cool Aboriginal player) called Rainbow Serpent. The latter looked the most interesting, so I took it to the listening station up in front of the store, plopped the CD into the tray and donned a pair of headphones for the next hour. I hadn’t planned on listening that long but the music from Rainbow Serpent immediately drew me into its vortex and led me on an amazing journey. I had found my CD. 

I also found the fire to learn to play didgeridoo. At the time, I had this bamboo didgeridoo that was the size of a telephone pole but it didn’t matter. I played it anyway and tried my best to emulate the sounds I was hearing on the album. Of course, the sounds didn’t come out the same because A) I was a beginner and B) the didge I was playing was way different that the amazing eucalyptus sticks David was playing. But that didn’t matter either. I kept playing. 

For the next year, Rainbow Serpent was my teacher. There wasn’t much else out there. Youtube was just born with a handful of videos and as far as I knew, I was the only person playing didgeridoo in Seattle. But I kept playing and loving it. 

Little did I know, this was just the beginning of an amazing journey full of travel to places I had never even thought of going, experiences that have been game changers, but most of all meeting extraordinary people. I’ve met men, women, kids, dogs, cats, birds, a snake or two, doctors, lawyers, teachers, admins, tons of artists, tons of hippies, tree huggers, conservatives, liberals, old people, young people, babies, rich folks, poor folks, Earth folks and city people and all of them having a hand in shaping me into the person I am now. And it’s because of didgeridoo. When I play on stage, it’s not me up there playing for people – it’s all of us creating a time together where we dance, sway, smile, laugh, cheer and celebrate the miracle of being happy humans while we’re here. Creating moments that we look back to with warmth and forward to doing again and again. So, I’m celebrating 16 years of evolution as a musician and a human and I’m looking forward to many more years of people, music and time spent together to continue to help foster a planet of happy humans. 

Take care all and stay amazing! 

Pam

So, didgeridoo is not the only instrument I play. I've played keyboard for far longer than didge and I find that both compliment each other. This is a piece for solo piano called Refuge and is something I wrote about 12 years ago. I just posted a practice sesson of it on Instagram TV (IGTV). You can find it here 

Refuge is a deeply personal song about the constant search for a place where the soul can rest. The driving rhythms are akin to the constant movement to find peace but in the end finding peace is in simply being still. It seems fitting to debut this song in this month of Mental Health Awareness. It's been a time I am coming to recognize my own struggles with trying to stay healthy in the face of anxeiety and depression. Writing songs like Refuge has been cathartic to help keep me on more of an even keel. 

I so enjoy playing this song even if it's not a clean take. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I do playing it. Thank you for listening and stay amazing!

So you’re probably asking “what the heck is Buy Me A Coffee?” 

It’s a really neat platform that gives creatives like myself a way to find support for our art, projects, writing, music anything that’s creative. As you know, it’s almost impossible for artists, musicians and other creatives to rely on just one income stream so Buy Me A Coffee definitely helps by providing one more way to find support for our art. Here’s how it works: 

Say you go to my Buy Me a Coffee page and see something I posted that you really like and want to support with a tip. Buy Me A Coffee, has a couple of different ways you can contribute. The first way is by making a one time (or more) contribution for each thing I make. You don’t have to sign up and make an account for anything if you don’t want to. You just hit the “Buy Pam A Tea” button and you’ll be walked through an easy process to make your contribution. You can also leave an optional comment and your name to let people know how much you love the music and art I make. It’s super easy and you’ll have the satisfaction of directly supporting the work I do so I can bring more of it into your world. You will also have my undying gratitude and get a big bear hug next time I see you.

The second way you can support more of my work is by going all in and becoming a monthly or yearly supporter. This does require you to make an account which is completely secure so you don’t have to worry about anything. You can chose the level of support that best fits your budget and you can opt out anytime for any reason. Once you made your selection, you will receive a set rewards for the tier you chose. I’m working on these tiers right now and will be making an announcement for them hopefully in the next few days. Oh and ditto for getting my undying gratitude and big bear hug.

I am super excited about being a part of this movement because it not only gives me one more way of finding the support for what I do but Buy Me A Coffee aligns perfectly with what I believe in when it comes to finding support in a non-pushy way. 

 So here’s what I’m doing with this now: 

For the next month, I will be posting something every day whether it’s a finished project or a work in progress. It’s the best way I can think of to pitch in to help foster a planet of happy humans. So come and check it out. See what I’ve been doing and if you like it Buy Me A Tea!! 

Thank you so much and stay amazing!! 

Pam

Hey there, Been feeling the push to say this out loud and it may sound weird but I'm going say it anyway.

Lately, I’ve been feeling the push to expand beyond my current borders to grow into something bigger than what I've been. Some of you know I recently released a circular breathing video. I watched it last night (yes I watch my own videos sometimes) and I saw a very different person than normal. I felt like I was actually seeing Me for the first time in years. It was so refreshing. When I watched this video, it was about seeing more than just someone who was teaching circular breathing. I was watching myself emerge from my shell and show up in a way that I was meant to and I freakin' loved it!

So what does that have to do with the mouthpiece in the photos above? I feel these photos can demonstrate what I mean about bringing out the best in ourselves. 

These are photos of a mouthpiece I just got through sanding on yesterday afternoon. If you look at the pictures from left to right you’ll see the transformation from roughness to finished product. In order to bring out the beauty of the wood, I had to use sandpaper, lots of elbow grease and a vision of what I wanted to see. It’s an evolution I’ve fallen in love with over the years of crafting didgeridoos – watching and having a hand in something, taking it from five little rings of rough cut wood to a cohesive thing of beauty. I posted these photos on my social media accounts last night and as I did, it hit me that this is the kind of evolution that any one of us can make from where we are. I look at these multi-colored rings of wood as individual parts of ourselves that when put together, make a gorgeous whole. What it takes is a vision of where we want to be and then taking steps to get there while we maintain the enthusiasm of our vision. The trick is to not get attached to the final outcome of how we should think it should go. Just like learning circular breathing, we have to let go of how we think something should go and just jump into beginner’s mind and be present to the work in front of us. I could ramble on about this but I think you get the point. 

So I just want to ask, if there is a place you want to go or if you have a vision of what you want, what step can you take right now to get there? It doesn’t have to be a huge leap but something that can at least get you closer to where you want to go. Ok, nuff said. I hope you find this helpful in some way. Let me know in the comments below. I'd would love to hear it!

Many thanks for reading!

Take care all and stay amazing! 

Pam 

PS: If you haven’t seen the circular breathing video yet, you can find it here.

Happy Wednesday All!

Sooooooo, circular breathing..... That mysterious mana of didgeridoo playing that seems to confound most of us is the topic of my latest tutorial for didgeridoo. This "Circular Breathing 101" tutorial covers and breaks down the very basic mechanics of the circular breathing process AND some of the mind games that circular breathing can play with us while we're learning. For those of you learning this technique, I hope this helps. 

One other thing I want to add, making this video is encouraging me to make a video course on circular breathing and didgeridoo playing in general. Some of the techniques I plan on covering are basic techniques (getting and clarifying the drone), vocals, rhythms and rhythmic components and putting things together to make your own songs. I'm super stoked to finally get a start on this. My question to you is what are some of the things that you would like me to cover? Are there some special techniques you've heard but can't quite figure out? Let me know. I'd love to hear from you. 

Many thanks for reading, thanks for watching, happy didging and stay amazing!

Pam

One of the top comments I hear in teaching people how to play didgeridoo, is they have hard time staying motivated in their practice because they play by themselves. When I was first learning how to play didgeridoo, I had the same issue – I thought I was the only player in Seattle and so it was a little hard for me to stay motivated. As it turned out, there were a whole bunch of other players in the area who thought the same thing so a didgeridoo circle was formed and every week we would meet and hone our skills simply by playing along with each other. But what if there isn’t a didgeridoo circle in your area? How do you stay motivated in your practice? What worked for me (other than the didge circle) was going to Youtube and seeking out videos and playing along with them. By doing this, I was not only more motivated but my skills developed a lot quicker by trying to follow players that were better than me. . And because videos are visual, I learned how to do many techniques simply by watching the player and then giving it a try. I also learned to develop and hone my own unique sounds and found a sense of timing and rhythm through doing duets with these videos 

It can go without saying that we are social creatures who learn from each other best when we have access to someone with a higher skill level so we can observe how to do something. Now that Youtube has LOADS of didgeridoo videos these days, it’s really easy to find a player that you can resonate with. Some of the players (aside from my own videos) that you may find helpful to play along with are Stephen Kent, Adele Blanchin, Lies Beijerinck, David Hudson, William Barton, Tyler Spencer and Zalem (Rudy Delarbre). There are many other players out there but this can be a start for those of you who are looking for some inspiration and motivation. When you play along with videos, don’t be surprised if your skills improve much more quickly than playing alone and even though it may not come out sounding the same as what you hear, you can develop your own sounds and rhythms that are unique to you.  Also it’s a lot more fun to play along with others than it is to play by yourself to a wall. One last thing is I’ve found that when I just let go of any idea of what I think I’m supposed to sound like and just relax and play along, I end up l playing my best. That alone can be the best motivator. 

I hope you find this simple suggestion helpful in your practice. Let me know in the comments below! Also, I just want to mention that I’m putting together a video course on learning how to play didgeridoo for people who are busy and can’t always schedule a session with me. So far, I’m working on videos for basic skills as well as a circular breathing course but let me know what else you think you would like to learn in the comments below and I can start working on it. 

Many thanks for reading this! Take care all. Stay happy, stay healthy and stay Amazing! 

Pam

Just started work on these two large yucca stalks. I made a mess and had a great time! They are both large bored which means they are likely to have a fill-the-room resonance. I also anticipate them to be fairly low pitched. They don't look like much now but I look forward to seeing how these two diamonds in the rough turn out. I'll be posting updates as things progress. If you have any questions let me know! My email is didgegnome6@gmail.com 

Take care All and stay Amazing!