Music Series
Where Music Lives
The Story Behind Where Music Lives
Artwork Details
Technique: Constructed Textile Sculpture
Dimensions: 41" wide x 48" high
Collection: Music Series
Availability: ready to hang sculpture
Sometimes an opportunity comes along that pushes you in a completely new direction.
I was invited to be the guest artist for a production of "Two Pianos, Four Hands" at the Colony Theater in Burbank. Since the play centered around pianos, I wanted to create a new piece especially for the event. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore a subject that had fascinated me for years.
There was just one problem.
I had no idea what the piece should look like.
Looking for Inspiration
My first instinct was to study grand pianos from every possible angle. I searched through photographs, examined the elegant curves of the instrument, and looked closely at the beautiful mechanics hidden beneath the lid.
The inside of a grand piano is amazing. Hundreds of strings stretch across the soundboard, crossed by heavy cast-iron supports. It is both mechanical and graceful.
The more I studied it, however, the more I realized I didn't want to simply make a fabric copy of a piano.
I wanted to create something that captured the spirit of music itself.
As I continued contemplating ideas, I kept coming back to the strings.
Reproducing hundreds of individual strings wasn't particularly exciting. Then it hit me.
What if there weren't any strings at all?
What if the music itself became the strings?
That single idea changed the entire direction of the piece. Instead of trying to duplicate the inside of a piano, I could fill it with musical notes and symbols flowing through the instrument. It transformed the piece from a realistic sculpture into something imaginative and uniquely my own.
The "Aha!" Moment
Solving One Problem After Another
Having the concept was only the beginning.
Now I had to figure out how to build it.
The sculpture needed to be lightweight enough to hang on a wall, sturdy enough to hold its shape, and durable enough to survive transportation and exhibition. Those requirements ruled out many of my original ideas.
What followed was a series of experiments, revisions, and more trips to Home Depot than I care to admit.
Every solution seemed to create another problem.
I would find a material that was strong enough but too heavy. Another would be lightweight but too flexible. I spent a lot of time testing materials, changing my approach, and rethinking the engineering before finally finding a combination that worked.
It was one of those projects where every obstacle forced me to become a little more creative.
An Unexpected Discovery
One challenge was creating the piano's lid.
After trying several approaches, I found myself discussing the problem with my framer. During our conversation he mentioned a material that had never crossed my mind.
That suggestion turned out to be exactly what I needed: foam core. It's a sturdy but very lightweight material that is easy to work with.
Sometimes the best ideas come from simply talking through a problem with someone else.
One Last Hurdle
Just when I thought everything was finished, I discovered that the large lid had developed a slight warp.
Back to problem-solving.
The solution was to reinforce it with an aluminum bar hidden beneath the surface. Once it was in place, the lid became perfectly stable without changing the appearance of the piece.
No one looking at the finished artwork would ever know it was there.
Looking at "Where Music Lives" today, I don't just see a grand piano.
I remember the invitation that inspired it, the experiments that didn't work, the unexpected discoveries, and all of the small engineering problems that had to be solved before the artwork could become reality.
The finished piece represents much more than a piano.
It represents the creative process itself: starting with an idea, asking questions, trying solutions, making mistakes, solving problems, and slowly watching a vision take shape.
Sometimes creating the artwork is only half the story.
The journey of figuring out how to create it can be just as rewarding.
The Finished Instrument
