A decorative piano has been added to Lent’s Lane for the summer in Port Hope.
The piano was donated by a family in Warkworth and the daughter came up with the idea of painting it to place it in the community as part of her peer tutoring placement in Allyson Demoe’s Grade 9 art class at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School.
The students involved included a grade 9 art class, as well as some specifically dedicated members of the school’s art club.
While the brainstorm, design and initial work (such as sanding, priming and painting base-coats) goes to numerous students, most of the artistic credit must go to individual students who dedicated many hours in making the theme (Port Hope) come alive on the piano.
Those students are Alyssa Smith, Erin Carmichael and Mikayla Richardson.
The artistic work expresses contemporary and historical visions of scenes from the Municipality in realistically rendered vignettes.
While it is eye-catching for its artistic merit, it is also informational, as the piano highlights sights, scenes, places and activities offered by the Municipality. For example, the gingham-checked display of food and beverages, painted in trompe l’oeil style (extreme realism or “trick the eye”) on the top of the piano features delicious food, rendered in first-person perspective from the variety of Port Hope-specific restaurants.
Demoe had the piano looked at by a local repairperson/tuner, Daniel Wiersma, who said that it dates back as early as 1890.
The piano will be housed in a temperature-controlled, dry location at the close of the season at the discretion of the Municipality’s Department of Parks, Rec & Culture department and to the community as a whole.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
