Wow, what a whirlwind the GO Ahead & Play 'opening weekend' was! I've seen so many tweets and videos and facebook posts and news stories about our "pink piano on The Circle" (and her 19 piano friends)! It's heartwarming to know that people are enjoying this. Friday I took a day off work. First, I drove around to see several of the other artists' nearby pianos (I've been to see 12 of them but only got pics of 11 so far!)
Then Kevin and I headed downtown to take some pictures and see if we saw anyone playing ours... well, we did! But first we removed the vase that had been designed to tip over for when/if she needs to be covered to protect her from rain, but it turns out no matter how many 'florist marbles' you have in a vase, Monument Circle is windier than you think, so the thing tipped over a lot! Then Kevin attached this small felted bowl from my pal Sandi, and filled that with the flowers - it's very pretty, and low-slung, so no wind will tip it!
We talked to several people, encouraged them to play, took pics for them so their whole group could be in their photos! Our friend Josh and his boyfriend Jonathan came down from their offices on The Circle to take a look (and play).
We also met our piano's "Buddy" - the person who'll apply her custom-made cover if it rains. He came down to make sure there were enough maps in her bench pocket!
After all the delightful piano hubbub, I headed to the south side, where I volunteer for a local animal rescue group. Earlier volunteers had already cleaned all the cages and fed and watered everyone, so my "job" for the day turned out be petting, hugging, and playing with bunnies. I guess I took 'socializing' literally; I kissed this sweet rabbit right on the head! Merino and I also went to a movie, and had delicious fried chicken and local corn at my brother- and sister-in-law's, and I finally finished the baby blanket I'm knitting for our nephew-to-be, but I don't have pics of any of that stuff, so here's another video of Kevin playing our piano, because I still want to know what you're going to GO Ahead & Play.
The excitement is building! I can hardly wait! The Yarnburners' piano, Tickled Pink, Tickling the Ivories, is about to make her outdoor debut! What will you play when you meet her?
Today's video features our newest Yarnburner, my best friend Kevin, who doesn't even knit (yet?)! He came along to the GO Ahead & Play workspace one day to help me (thank goodness!) and the next thing I knew he had a needle in hand and was miraculously, expertly stitching pieces to other pieces in contrasting yarn, which really makes for a fabulous finished look. Don't worry, this is not the last you'll see/hear of him!
This blog entry is meant not only to share an inside look at our process with you, lovely readers, but to tell Kev that his love, support, and humor throughout the years mean the world to me - especially his involvement in this crazy piano project (though he never once told me I was crazy for trying to cover a piano with yarn). I love you, Boy.
It's about to happen! Later this week (in three days... but who's counting?), our piano will be on Monument Circle!
Are you ready? Have you been practicing your piano skills? Here's a video of Tim from A
Tune Above Piano Tuning (who volunteered his time to tune 20 pianos -
twice!), playing a bit of music on our piano, Tickled Pink, Tickling the Ivories. I know, you want me to
zoom out so you can see the whole thing, but I didn't want to ruin the
surprise when you see her in person!
... sometimes it's about pianos and paint. Or pianos and mirrors. But for me, especially today, it's mainly about pianos and smiles (and videos! Click my links, I'm serious - I got this stuff on video)! At first, I thought it was simply going to be cool to cover a piano with knitting (oh, I'm right about that; but I digress). I was tickled when I'd find crochet pieces in my mailbox, and pleased as punch every time one or more of our merry band of "fiber enthusiasts" would join me at a "piano knit night." And how nice to walk into the LYS (local yarn shop) and find someone had left a knitted piece or a ball of yarn in the "Pink Piano" basket!
Then I started to notice as I would encounter other artists or Women's Fund staff or their families in the workspace, every single time they saw our pink, yarny piano, they smiled. They touched it. They told me they wanted to hug it. Then they smiled some more. Sure, I thought, these are people on the journey with us. Of course they are being supportive.
There were two preview events for for the pianos today, and I went to both - these were the only chances people would have to see all 20 in one room! At the first one, there were lots of kids... and they loved our piano (especially the pom poms). One toddler tapped on the keys for a minute, with a big smile on her face, and then she looked at me very seriously and said, "Thank you for making this pretty piano." I swear, I teared up! I thanked her for playing it, and I had to look away because I didn't want a baby to know I was a crybaby!
At the second event, people were admiring "Tickled Pink, Tickling the Ivories" and all the pianos, taking pictures, smiling all the while. Then, as a gracious speech was winding down, we were told that for 18 months, the GO Give Back students had really put their heart and soul into this project... and someone started playing Heart and Soul at a piano behind us. People smiled. Then Tim (yes, Tim the intrepid piano tuner) started playing it on Cheryl Anne's piano beside us. More people smiled, and then another person joined in playing on our "neighbor," Nancy's piano... and then another in the corner of the room... there were huge, wide smiles all over the place. It was really a wonderful moment!
I can hardly wait to experience random passersby reacting to pianos all over town! I hope people will want to see as many as they can... and I especially hope that a certain pink piano on The Circle makes them smile.
[Insert big official announcement music here!] The Yarnburners' piano (titled Tickled Pink, Tickling the Ivories) will be on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana! She's yarn-clad and tuned up and ready for everyone to visit August 1-18, 2013!
The exact location will be 40 Monument Circle (Southwest quadrant - right in front of our sponsors, radio stations 93.1 WIBC FM and Soft Rock B105.7). Here's a link to the interactive map. Keep in mind, she has 19 piano friends in the area and all around town - transformed with everything from paint to paper, sculpted to carved - who would also love to see you! If you're like me, you'll want to print out the downloadable map so you can plan your trips to see each one! Play a song, take some photos, have a seat and sing a little ditty anytime - and when you're tweeting, instagramming, pinning, etc., use "#indypianos" so we can see how you like her!
