Artist Statement: This year my Sing for Hope piano is an Art Deco inspired design combining words, letter forms and typography along with colorful geometric shapes in a playful pattern that covers the entire instrument. I’ve always loved the art and design of the Art Deco era, as well as the Bauhaus and Arts and Crafts movements from the early twentieth century. And I’ve arranged the elements to evoke that style while communicating the joy and excitement of visual art along with music. Interspersed throughout the design are words of inspiration that I believe music and art bring to people. Its a positive message that is at the very heart of Sing for Hope’s mission. This is my fourth piano for Sing for Hope and I couldn’t be more delighted to be part of this wonderful project again. When deciding what my piano’s theme would be this year, I thought back to a design I had been asked to do by the Sing for Hope team for their Healing Arts Program brochure cover. I used the same art deco influenced approach, as I wanted to create something really unique that would pop with color and excitement. They were thrilled with the design and it occurred to me how nice it could be if I used the same concept, but this time expanding into an entire piano design. That’s how I developed this years offering to the project. Color is a huge part of my design, so when it came time to come up with a name for my piano, I thought the phrase “Songs in Color” to be a nice way to describe the experience of listening to this lovely instrument being played. Hopefully it will bring curiosity, fun and excitement to people of all ages when the piano debuts along with all the others in the public spaces they will be assigned to. This year I enlisted my wife Peggy as an invaluable assistant and collaborator in helping me paint it. Many hours of work went into its creation and it turned out to be a great experience we were both able to share together. Sing, play, and enjoy!