Pianos

Last Wednesday while enjoying lunch with my mom and sister at Coopersmith's in Fort Collins, I looked through the window and saw someone playing a piano.  Outside.  Oh, yes, my sister explained.  There are a number of pianos hanging about in Fort Collins, and anyone can sit down and play Heart and Soul or Chopin or improvise to their heart's content.

"Pianos About Town is a collaborative project between Bohemian Foundation, the DDA (Donwtown Development Authority) and the City of Fort Collins’ Art in Public Places Program. The pianos are painted by local artists and then placed around Fort Collins, inviting pedestrians to participate in this interactive experience."

You can read a bit about this project and see pictures here and here.

In a moment of serendipity, my friend Judy sent me this link to this story in the LA Times about a similar endeavor, here in LA County called Play Me, I'm Yours.  30 pianos spread throughout the county - 3 weeks to enjoy.  Judy told me that one of the piano sits by Rhino Records, and I just had to go see it for myself.  Sure enough, someone was playing the piano while people milled past.

The photo gallery on the LA Times site shows how some of the pianos have been painted.

Benson Sculpture Garden, Loveland, CO

View of SOME of the sculptures

It's Spring Break for the Claremont USD this week, so I took the opportunity to visit my family (parents and sister) in Colorado for a few days.  Although I have been to visit a number of times, we usually find something new and different to do.  This time we took a little ride down to Loveland with our cameras to view the Benson Sculpture Garden.

Here are just a few of my favorite shots.  While there are many realistic bronze works, we also enjoyed the abstract and stylized art.

My favorite realistic people sculpture 

My favorite abstract

One of my favorite music-themed works