ted lyddon hatten

wax

encaustic art

sand

sand art

myrrh

myrrh art

coffee grounds

coffee grounds art

ephemeral mosaic

ephemeral mosaic art

curated conversations

curated conversations art

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ephemeral mosaic

curated conversations

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Charadrius Piano opens this Friday, June 7, 5-9pm, Mainframe Studios (9th and Keo, DSM), plus ten other pianos of the CitySounds Piano Project. Come vote for your favorite, plus see other art and artists.
If you were to ask me what the Charadrius Piano is about, I would point you to a book with 120 words, tucked in a bed of peacock feathers/eyes and hidden inside the piano bench.
Come see - Come be seen.
#charadriuspiano, #citysoundsdsm, #musicasmedicine

Photos of the process.
I am privileged to be participating in City Sounds’ subversive public art installation. Pianos strategically placed around the city of Des Moines, each one transformed by a local artist. The Charadrius Piano is my contribution to the effort. It is a look at the healing power of music (and birds) - music as medicine.
Come see all 11 pianos in one place – June 7, 5-9pm - Mainframe Studios, 9th and Keo, DSM. If you are reading these words, you are invited. Food, music, art, and people. Vote your favorite, play a tune, help paint on a piano. (Methodists, AC is a few blocks away and you will need a break to detox.)
#charadriuspiano, #citysoundsdsm, #musicasmedicine

From sketch to sculpture, this is the process so far. Carved piano bench for City Sounds’ summer installation. Pianos are scattered around public spaces in DM after a handful of artists have had their way with them. This is mine, entitled Charadrius Piano. (The legend of the Charadrius, popular in the Middle Ages, held that a particular bird had a gaze that would heal a believer instantly.)

I am excited to be presenting this recent work, and two other installations / ephemeral art, at ARC’s Theopoetics Conference this weekend, (3/22-24) in Oakland, CA.
These images are part of a series - birds (canary) etched in brass letterpress galleys (from UMPH). They are visible now, but these birds will be lost, eventually. Consumed by time and tarnish, they will gradually fade from view. The word “ephemeral” means lasting a very short time. The term, “very short time” is always relative.
#Theopoetics2019 #ephemeralart

Under a shard of glass lies Aotearoa, “land of the long white cloud,” also known as New Zealand.
Under the cloud is Christchurch, again rocked by tragedy and unspeakable loss.
Under the vial of myrrh is a nest of hand-spun baby Suri Alpaca from Tararua, NZ.
Under everything is a place where beauty and tenderness hold the broken in a soft embrace.
Sending love from Iowa to New Zealand