The Think ART Project’s latest endeavor is getting old pianos to be painted and put on display, turning them into “bright gems” for the city of Searcy, one of the artists said.
Mat Faulkner, director of the Think ART Project, said the piano project started in late summer.
Faulkner said that when the request went out saying the Think ART Project was looking for unwanted pianos, “it went nuts.”
“We only picked up four,” he said. “For one, they were incredibly heavy, and we were getting closer to fall and winter. We didn’t want to relocate old pianos in bad weather. We have to have locations to move them to.
“Harding Academy has one, The Artistry off Main Street has one, and Sowell’s Furniture is storing two of them,” he said.
Faulkner said he knew of other cities that had projects in which pianos were painted by artists and displayed. The THINK Art Project, which works in conjunction with the Searcy Arts Council, decided to adopt the idea.
“The idea is to repurpose older pianos maybe not being used in people’s homes,” he said. “One of the things we wanted was for it not only to turn into a piece of artwork, but for it to be played and enjoyed. Pianos lose their tune quickly, especially with humidity. Some will be permanently placed in public spaces. Some will stay inside all the time; some will be pushed out [for different occasions].”
One of the pianos was pushed from a building owned by Sowell’s Furniture into Art Alley during a monthly arts and entertainment event called Beats & Eats, for example.
Nancy Hatfield, co-owner of Sowell’s, said the painted piano is in a large building that houses four businesses.
“It’s fun because … I’ve been down there. We have a common area, and in that common area, we have some discount furniture, and the piano is just in that room,” Hatfield said. “I’ve had kids who have come in with their parents, and they go over there and just start playing. It’s very attracting and very attractive. It’s a good project.”
That piano is the one that artist Raeanne Kiihnl (pronounced Kigh-nell) painted. A senior at Harding University in Searcy, she is majoring in fine art/painting and is a member of the Think ART Project Board of Directors.
“I was coloring in coloring books when I was 2. I did not decide I could do [art] as a career until the end of high school. I thought if I didn’t have to get a real job, I could be an artist. Then I thought, ‘Wait, I can do whatever I want to do.’”
Kiihnl said she has two more semesters before she graduates; then she’d like to move to New York City to be a studio artist.
“I’m going to be the next Andy Warhol,” she said. “I’m going to do something big.”
Faulkner called her “extremely talented.”
Kiihnl is also one of about 90 artists who participate in Art Alley. Faulkner said the Think ART Project created Art Alley in downtown Searcy, a formerly “sketchy, rundown” alley that is now a hot spot for artists to gather and paint murals as the public watches and enjoys lives music and other activities.
The network of artists in the Art Alley group were the ones considered for the piano project, he said.
Kiihnl said she was asked to paint a piano, and she didn’t hesitate.
“The piano, I literally did not come in with a plan. I just started painting,” she said.
Kiihnl said she primed the wood and used acrylic paint. She described it as “an explosion of vibrant color.”
The design includes a woman’s face, lots of eyes and flowers, and she painted an alien on the bottom.
“On one side, it says ‘Love Over All’; the other side is random designs,” she said. “I would love to work on it more, but it’s presentable.”
She did some of the painting live during a Beats & Eats event in August. During a Thanksgiving Beats & Eats event, she saw children walking by the piano in the alley and stopping to play it, which she enjoyed seeing.
Kiihnl said she’d love to see several of the pianos in downtown, where they could be pushed onto the square and played at the same time.
She said she took piano lessons as a child.
“I know three good songs, and I can kind of figure out stuff,” she said, adding that she played some as she painted. “Of course, you have to test it out.
“I want to be so much more involved with the Think ART Project, but school’s got to come first.”
Kiihnl said she would be willing to paint another piano because she loved the experience.
“You look at it, and it’s a little piece of happiness,” she said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.