These art case piano models are now part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

For commission work please contact the artist.

THE SCALE MODELS
I began creating models as a means of sharing my ideas for full-scale piano designs.

STUDY FOR A BABY GRAND PIANO

1/10 Scale Baby Grand	Approx. 8" long	Styrofoam wood, lacquer.

This was my first experiment in piano model building. As a full-sized piano, this design would be most appropriate in a contemporary home or small public place. This instrument is designed to be readily heard from all directions simultaneously.

STUDY FOR A GRAND PIANO

This piano was designed to project sound to an audience as well as to the performer. The solid back leg, which runs the entire length of the piano, channels sound from the bottom of the sounding board out toward the audience. The various vanes on the top also serve to channel and disperse sound outward. The aesthetic form was derived from listening to twentieth century music. Keeping in mind the precise inner dimensions of a seven-foot Steinway grand, I used hard styling clay to rough out, change, and refine some earlier sketches. A silicone mold was made of the clay model, which was later cast in an epoxy resin. The body of the model was then primed and given several coats of hand-rubbed lacquer. The keys were fabricated by hand out of styrene plastic. The pedals were forged out of steel rod.

10 3/4" long, cast polyurethane, lacquer. Design and construction = 100 hours

1/8th Scale 7' Grand - Silver

BLACK: 1/8th SCALE MODEL FOR A GRAND PIANO

This piano was designed specifically as a stage instrument. The purpose is to project sound outward as much as possible. A solid rear leg and an under carriage louver direct sound from the bottom of the sounding board, The internally cone-shaped lid serves the same purpose for the top of the sounding board. Aesthetically, I wished to reduce the feeling of heaviness and huge mass of a large concert instrument without changing its classic deco black color. The transparent legs make the piano appear to float. Nineteenth-century classical music was my visual interpretive basis for this piece.
	1/8th Scale 7' Grand - Black Lacquer
Since the completion of the piece shown here, a process for reproduction has been completed. The resin model has been cut open. The lid has been removed and the body hollowed out to make room for a sounding board, plate, and strings, which were fabricated separately. Urethane rubber molds have been made for the various pieces and prototype castings made in urethane plastic. All the pieces have assembled, hinges installed, and the plate strung, to simulate piano strings. A few additional castings may be made from urethane plastic or the molds could be used to make wax replicas that could then be cast in metal.
10 3/4" long, Cast polyurethane, lacquer, clear acrylic. Design and construction = 200 hours	1/8th Scale 7' Grand - inside detail