Years ago there was a piano in my parent’s house that used to be my grandmother’s childhood piano. It was pretty to look at, but it wouldn’t hold a tune for anything and was no longer played by anyone who appreciated intonation of any kind. I found this video of my eldest son as a baby playing a few sour notes for your listening pleasure. 🎵🥴
My grandmother as a little girl.
It was time for it to go, as space was needed, but it was extremely heavy, so quite a few years ago, we took it apart and I couldn’t help but gather up all the inside workings of the piano to make art of some kind. I created some wall décor and Christmas ornaments and even made a Christmas tree star I used for many years. Years passed and now that I’m getting into surface pattern design, I couldn’t help but be reinspired by not only the piano parts, but so much more than that. This repurposing, along with my love for music, inspired me to draw motifs based on the wall art I had created as well as musical symbols and every other part of the piano. I felt the inspiration was almost endless when I thought about the physical parts of the piano – the wood, strings, inner workings, the keys and the pedals. I thought about the way the pieces moved and worked together and the music that was created in its prime. I thought about family history and family ties – musicians in the family and the way music can bring people together and speak to people without words. I thought about all the musical symbols and musical terms that had different meanings that could be translated into something visual! I was so excited to get started on this pattern collection and there was certainly no lack of inspiration!
