If music be the food of art materials

...get on and play! I was recently presented with the innards of a very dead piano by a friend who specialises in festival installations, interactive noise-making sculptures and other joys over at the Gypsyjam Collective.

Piano innards awaiting my tender ministrations

Lots of pianos meet a splintery end as they're hard to shift, no-one wants them etc, but at least this one would get used for something. I had no idea what, but, well, all those lovely little levers and springs... so I started dismantling and organising.

Piano bits all neat and tidy.

At this stage, I knew more about how a piano worked, but still didn't know how the components would be used except that there would be (a) articulation, and (b) non-piano additions. I began to tinker. And then some more, until...

Here it is Pianomechanical #1

...yes, wall-hangings - it's more-or-less flat, so hangs easily, and I shall be making a series of them, all numbered 'Pianomechanicals', and all different. They're for sale, so if you are interested, do get in touch. Right, back to the workshop...

To bin or to pimp, that is the question

We all accumulate unwanted stuff - clothes we don't wear, broken bits and pieces that look like they might be useful some time, jewellery gathering dust and so on. And why not - it's how a lot of artists collect art materials! So, what's to be done with them - bin or pimp? Well, I dug a plain black Next jacket out of the wardrobe the other day  - nothing special about it - I'd picked it up for a whole £1 years ago and barely worn it, only to find a line of moth holes down the back... grrr... However, I had recently picked up a couple of bags of pick 'n' mix buttons from the Art House (yes I mention the place often cos it rocks) and was wondering what to do with them. I also have a sack of fabric offcuts and some old braid and edging including from muchly ancient French ecclesiastical garments.

Bag of crafty joy - £4 - more than in a charity shop maybe, but I get to choose the ones I want...

So, out with the scissors, needles and threads... First remove most of the boring black office-wear buttons. Then cover pocket flaps with silk and add edgings. Then sew on splendid newly acquired buttons. Spinggg - 'tis revamped!

Newly pimped jacket - a bit punk, a bit military?

Some detail of the pocket, cuffs and buttons.