Encore! Old Pianos with a New Song got its start in 2011 when I came into possession of an old Lyon & Healy piano that was beyond repair. I had seen a small figurine of Don Quixote made of piano parts in an art gallery in Florida, so I decided to take this piano apart and see what I could make with it. It took my son and me three days to disassemble the piano and carry the pieces home in the back of our pickup truck, then I spent several more days taking the action apart, cleaning, and sorting the pieces. Like someone who sees shapes in the clouds, I would hold the pieces at different angles to find out what they said to me. In this piano I saw giraffes, chickens, people, circles, music, and more. Five years later the ideas continue to come to me faster than I can make them a reality.
Also in 2011, I participated in my first craft fair, and it was both successful and encouraging. That year I sold my photographs with Scripture verses on them, enlarged to various sizes, mounted and matted for framing. The following year I added Piano Art to my selection, and it became an instant hit with the craft fair customers. I had found my niche! Now I'm scaling back the Scenic Scriptures, limiting it most to commissioned works, while turning most of my attention to improving the work I do with pianos and developing those new ideas. Several more pianos have come to me since that first one, with requests for piano pickups coming in regularly.
Most of my work is in the form of fine art: a picture painted on a canvas with piano creatures as the focal point. But I also have begun making some furniture pieces, and this year I plan to also open a line of jewelry made from the copper strings. My art makes an excellent gift for your music teacher, choir director, or musician, or just someone who loves and appreciates music. My selection is ever growing, and I also welcome commissioned work. For example, I made a piece called "Sheet Music" in the first year, and someone commissioned another one made with a bass clef for her daughter who plays a bass instrument. Someone else liked my "Conductor" and commissioned me to make a "French Horn Player."
About the Artist. A Navy brat, I have called Hampton Roads my home since 1982. My wonderful husband (of 21 years) and I have three growing children, ages 15, 18, and 19. Our oldest is now a Marine Corps Reservist and studying accounting in Florida. Our second son will soon be leaving us for Army boot camp, and our daughter is entering 10th grade with plans to study creative writing. Our Army recruit will be sorely missed when he is gone, as he has been my faithful partner in the business of picking up and taking apart pianos. We are all musicians (except my husband, poor fella). Everyone sings and plays at least one instrument. The boys both play guitar, my daughter plays piano and handbells, and I play piano and guitar. When I'm not making art from old pianos, I am usually cleaning houses or doing tax preparation. Those are my "ministries," things I do to help people, but piano art is my passion.
