Drum-Making & Drum Journeying Workshops
Nate Long “Owl”, a Shamanic Practitioner and Intentional Artist, is traveling from Austin, TX to share his medicine with our community.
Made Prayer | 1-Day Drum-Making Workshop
Friday, December 13 | 1:00 - 4:00 PM, or 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Energetic Exchange: $199
Follow the Beat | 2-Day Drum-Making & Journeying Workshop
Day 1: Friday, December 13 |1:00 - 4:00 PM, or 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Day 2: Saturday, December 14 | 2:00 - 4:30 PM
Energetic Exchange: $299 (*Drum-making included)
In Nate Long "Owl's" drum-making workshop, you will do more than just build a drum—you will craft a spiritual tool infused with your deepest intentions. Nate’s workshops are about building a relationship with your drum, acknowledging that what you put into its creation will shape what you receive in return. This intentional process turns the drum into a living spiritual guide, aiding in inner work, manifestation, and wisdom.
This 3-hour immersive experience is more than just a hands-on project; it's an opportunity to build a deep relationship with one of the oldest healing tools known to humanity.
When we recognize a need, we can transform that need into a prayer and infuse it into the sacred act of creating. By building a drum with focused intention, you birth an instrument that reflects your unique journey, supporting you in your spiritual and healing practices.
Event Schedule
Nate is offering (2) Drum-Making Workshops opportunities on Friday, December 13, an afternoon workshop from 1:00 - 4:00 PM and an evening workshop from 5:30 - 8:30 PM. After allowing the drum to dry overnight, all attendees are invited to return on Saturday, December 14th for a Drum Blessing Ceremony.
Immediately following the Drum Blessing Ceremony, Nate is offering an opportunity to take a deeper dive into working with your drum in an extra “Follow the Drum Beat” workshop on Saturday, December 14. This workshop includes instruction on working with the drum and beginning to drum journey.
Friday, December 13 | Drum-making Workshop
1:00 - 4:00 PM - Afternoon Drum Making Workshop
5:30 - 8:30 PM - Evening Drum Making Workshop
Saturday, December 14 | Drum Blessing Ceremony
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM - All drum-making attendees encouraged to attend
Saturday, December 14 | Follow the Beat Journeying Workshop
2:00 - 4:30 PM - Deep dive into working with your drum and journeying
Location
This event will be held in an event space located next door to Ebb & Float - Downtown. Look for the courtyard with a tree beside our building and follow the ramp up to the double doors. We will be there to greet you. Please arrive 15 minutes before the event start time. The event will begin promptly and doors will close with entry no longer permitted to maintain the integrity of the space.
Power of Drumming
Drumming has held sacred significance for indigenous cultures worldwide for millennia, serving as the heartbeat of ceremonies marking life’s most significant transitions—healings, births, rites of passage, and more. The rhythm of the drum connects us to the Earth and each other, resonating with a universal, vibrational language that transcends time and culture. Through the drum, we commune with the Earth’s heartbeat, fostering a profound sense of unity with all living beings.
In modern spiritual practices, drumming is a powerful tool to quiet the mind, deepen focus, and connect to spirit. Scientific research even suggests that drumming can alter brainwave patterns, significantly reducing stress. As one of the oldest and most accessible healing tools, the drum offers a therapeutic experience that requires no prior musical training, allowing anyone to reconnect with their inner self and the world around them.
Blue Eye Art is thrilled to offer this transformative experience to our community. Join us in this unique opportunity to create your own sacred drum, a tool that will serve as a guide and companion on your spiritual path for years to come.
Drum-Making Workshop Details:
Drum Kits: It will be the participant’s responsibility to order, purchase and ship their drum kit.
Cost of kits can vary (between $50 and $250) depending on size and hide type. Order multiple kits if possible to reduce shipping costs.
Please order kit hides with pre-punched holes
Please order a drum beater kit
Order at least two weeks prior to the workshop
Centralia Fur and Hide. You are welcome to order from another vendor, but please make sure your kit comes with a wood hoop, rawhide of appropriate size, and rawhide lacing.
Items to Bring:
Wear comfortable clothing, we’ll be sitting on the floor.
If you need special arrangements for your physical comfort, please let the facilitator know ahead of time.
Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated and snacks if you wish.
Yoga mats, meditation cushions, and blankets will be provided
Preparing for Drum Making Workshop:
Order your drum kit at least 2 weeks in advance
Examine all drum kit materials once they arrive, you should have:
Round rawhide (with pre-punched holes)
Hoop frame
Raw-hide lacing
Drum beater kit
With materials laid out in front of you, do some personal journey work around your intentions for this new drum.
Ask Spirit Guides for information on its purpose. Time for healing, meditative, space-setting, etc.
Give thanks and honor the sacrifices of both the animal (rawhide) and tree (hoop). Maybe ask them for guidance and a blessing.
The evening before the workshop, submerge all rawhide, including lacing, in a tub of water (not the suede)
Bring the wet rawhide to the workshop wrapped in a beach towel.
We will be making drum beaters, as well.
Bring your drum beater kit with your drum kit
A Workbook will be provided to all participants
Drum Blessing Ceremony
A special Drum Blessing Ceremony will be held the following day and all are welcome to come witness this birthing ceremony! All attendees are encouraged to attend to bless the birth of your drum. Please invite friends and family!
This is an energetic welcoming to the new spirit that you have birthed into the world.
There is no charge to attend the ceremony and all family and friends are welcome (witnesses are encouraged!)
Follow the Beat Workshop
After the drum-making workshop, Nate Long "Owl" invites you to continue your journey with the Follow the Beat Workshop. This immersive add-on experience takes your personal relationship with the drum to the next level, helping you unlock the full potential of your new spiritual tool. In this workshop, you'll learn to use the drum as a gateway for Drum Journeying, a practice that connects you with your spirit guides for clarity, guidance, and deeper insight.
Through this extended offering, you will:
Build a stronger connection with your spirit guides
Experience deeper spiritual alignment and fulfillment
Cultivate inner peace and reduce stress
Enhance your mental concentration and focus
Strengthen your sense of control over your path and destiny
Whether you’re seeking greater clarity in your life or a deeper connection to your spiritual practice, this workshop provides a powerful opportunity to nurture a profound relationship with your drum and the wisdom it offers. Let the beat guide you to new levels of understanding, healing, and empowerment.
Signing up for this workshop INCLUDES the drum-making workshop on Friday, December 13. After investing in your drum and pouring your intentions into hand-crafting this new ally, this workshop is the perfect addition to take a deep dive into the power of your Made Prayer.
How to Register
Space is limited! Sign Up for this event purchase your Drum Making Workshop ticket or purchase your Follow the Beat Workshop ticket (this option includes Drum Making Workshop ticket). After purchasing your ticket please return to the calendar and choose a workshop time for Friday, December 13.
Event Cancellation Policies
All event ticket sales are final. Event tickets are non-refundable, but you may transfer your ticket to another person if you can no longer attend.
Parking
Free parking is available in any space in the Ebb & Float surface lot located on the south side of the building (look for the Warehouse District Mural). If this lot is full, paid parking is available on 5th St or in the paid surface lot on 4th St.
Sensory Information
This ceremony involves the use of sensory tools. If at any point you become overwhelmed, or uncomfortable you are welcome to take a break while remaining courteous of other participants.
Scent: To create the ceremonial space, practitioners may use/burn herbal smudge sticks (sage), palo santo (wood), or incense as tools.
Sound: Practitioners may use a range of aural stimuli including voice, crystal bowls, and other musical instruments.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns, please email info@ebbfloat.com
Practitioner Bio
Meet Your Facilitator
Nate Long “Owl” is a Shamanic Practitioner, Intentional Artist, and Ceremonialist devoted to building and nurturing community. His practice draws upon insights gained through meditative journey work, and each of his creations is infused with intentionality, serving as a "made prayer" to address deeper aspects of the self or the world around us. Nate’s work inspires deep reflection and fosters cleansing, healing, and blessing for individuals, sacred spaces, and communities. Whether through art, ceremony, or spiritual guidance, Nate helps raise awareness and ease discomfort in meaningful, transformative ways.
Nate has participated in deeply profound ceremonies for the last fifteen years, learning to "make prayer" by creating drums, rattles, and other ceremonial items. He is the visionary and creator of the Austin Labyrinth Project (www.austinlabyrinthproject.com), which provides a map of Central Texas labyrinths and resources on building and doing ceremonies with these creations. He has been involved in "extreme prayer" ceremonies through Native American vision quests, sweat lodges, and sun dancing. He is the author of "Made Prayer: An Artistic Spiritual Process", two children's books, and several poetry/art compilation books (found on Amazon). Blue Eye Art is Nate's online portal where you can explore all of Nate's many offerings: http://www.blueeyeart.com. Feel free to contact him directly with questions or requests.
With so much honor and respect, he views these experiences as an extreme gift and opportunity to be of service and find love for the self and community. Through amazing teachers and experience, He has been provided with a relatable and real-life practice that revolves around an animistic reality, centered on prayer with the spirits that walk with him.
His first spiritual encounter with the drum came in 2013 when he joined the Shamanic Community of Austin. At that time, Nate purchased a small two-sided tom drum to take to the woods for personal journey work. Eight months later, in mid-2014, he built his first drum, an 18" elk-hide drum named "Dreams of Birds". After making several additional drums, Nate helped facilitate his first drum-making workshop in August 2016. As of the summer of 2024, Nate has, with the assistance of his wife, Lindsay, and several others, facilitated over 22 workshops, helping to birth more than 240 drums.
Nate views the drum as more than just a tool to work with energy and spiritual work. To him, it is a living entity that guides him through life. It is also an ally and friend with whom he has a relationship. When using the drum, it holds the power to be transported to an alternate perspective and place where to find insight and healing and guided back with gentle completion.