Creating in a small space

The piano in its new life
as versatile furniture

Earlier this year I was at Northcrest in Ames to teach a watercolor class, then give a presentation using my new friend PowerPoint. This was special for me — I knew many of the class members as we had raised children together, served on committees together — and I wanted to do something healing. Our theme was “Follow the Brush”; swish the brush, and what do you see? We always saw something, not copying but painting memories and what we felt that day. We did warmups with “little gems” of technique — chickens, flowers, butterflies. I gave them a big sheet of paper and it was totally their deal.

I saw a lot of laughter, playing, discovering; some people told me they were going to start painting regularly again. We are all aging, and people have had to give up things to move into smaller spaces. I pointed out that you don’t need a lot of space to create — you can paint a “little gem” on a kitchen countertop. Or, I suggested, maybe on a baby grand piano! When I got it, this piano didn’t work as a musical instrument (after being stood on by a few too many fraternity members). I took the heavy part out, painted the rest, and it has served me well as work surface, display area, and dinner party table.

A smaller space does require organization; I sometimes rediscover “treasures” when building maintenance needs me to move things around!