Artist Statement: My piano is based on a Matisse painting titled “The Piano Lesson”. Pinned between the ticking metronome and the disapproving adult, the boy sits at the piano as I once did, unprepared for the lesson ahead. I used Matisse’s painting as a backdrop for a tumble of weeds and wildflowers. I titled the piano “Where I’d Rather Be” because I was thinking of myself as a child, struggling to play my scales and wishing I was outdoors instead daydreaming (which was probably the reason I hadn’t practiced). I still play the piano and now I find the practice mesmerizing and meditative, a respite from the world like the escapes I made to the woods in my childhood. As I was painting this piano, the explosion of botany took on a second meaning and became symbolic of the music encircling the instrument when played, which I hope happens a lot.