Piano Collages
As both a piano teacher and an artist, I became interested in using recycled piano parts in 2008. It started when my friend Charlie, a piano tuner, gave me three piano keys, a piano hammer, and a Steinway pin. That gave me the idea to create a piano collage and I called it “Charlie’s Tune.” Soon after, I acquired a damaged upright Baldwin piano from New Orleans that endured Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I completely disassembled the piano, reassembling the parts into these collages. I selected keys, hammers, various appurtenances and painted in a whimsical fashion on a Masonite board to create a musical piece of art. In most cases, the piano cabinetry is used to make the art frames. I use sheet music from any era or style which gives me creative ideas for the piano keys and parts. When working on these, I am reminded of all the craftsmen who constructed the 12,000 parts of the piano and the fingers that made the music.
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie | 2021 | Music: Cowboy ballad folk song | Baldwin upright piano keys on Masonite board, cold wax and oil medium, sheet music, piano cabinetry
Calling All Appurtenances | 2019 | There are over 12,000 parts to a piano made up of keys and all its appurtenances: wire strings, pins, hammers, felt, the action - a see-saw-like leverage system with many handmade parts! | Baldwin upright piano keys and appurtenances on Masonite board, encaustic and acrylic medium, sheet music, piano cabinetry
Mozart's Twinkle | 2021 | Mozart popularized the French folk song "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" (Oh shall I tell you Mama) by composing 12 variations for solo piano. We know this tune today as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. | Howard upright piano keys on Masonite board, cold wax and oil medium, sheet music, piano cabinetry
Music of the Starry Night | 2019 | George Crumb, a modern-classical composer known for his unusual timbres and notation. From his Macrokosmos III. | Baldwin upright piano keys on Masonite board, encaustic medium, sheet music, piano cabinetry
Blue Moon | 2019 | In 1961, The Marcel's cover of "Blue Moon" by Richard Rogers became an international number-one hit. | Baldwin upright piano keys on Masonite board, encaustic and acrylic medium, sheet music, poly resin, piano cabinetry
Preludium | 2014 | 1964 Baldwin upright piano keys and appurtenances, sheet music, acrylic paint on Masonite board, piano cabinetry
Senior Recital: Beethoven | 2020 | Music: Sonata No. 5, Op. 10, No. 1, movement 1, Allegro molto e con brio | Howard upright piano keys on Masonite board, encaustic medium, sheet music, cabinetry
St. Ursula Hall Conservatory | 2019 | My piano students loved playing recitals at the historical Conservatory of Music in Springfield, Illinois founded by the Ursuline Order of Roman Catholic religious sisters. Sister Emanciata was an extraordinary music teacher and mentored many fine musicians and piano teachers at Ursula Hall. | Music: Beethoven Sonata No. 5 Op. 10 No. 1 in C minor 2nd mvt. | Howard upright piano keys on Masonite board, encaustic medium, sheet music, piano cabinetry.
Swing'n Etude | 2019 | I used the Hanon book of Scales and had my students jazz them up into fun etudes for finger strength and evenness. | Howard upright piano keys on Masonite board, encaustic medium, sheet music, piano cabinetry
I Wanna Hold Your Hand | 2021 | Michelangelo's 17th century Sistine Chapel mural of God touching Man is paired with a 20th century song by The Beatles. | Baldwin upright piano keys on Masonite board, cold wax and oil medium, sheet music, poly resin, piano cabinetry.
Movement No. 1 | 2022
