Punctum Inc Seedpod residency open invitation to Rae Howell space

While Punctum Inc, a live arts organisation based in Castlemaine, has been running its Seedpod residency program for 15 years, Rae Howell and Megan J Riedl are the the first creatives from Ballarat to participate.

Howell, a performer, composer and piano technician has been exploring the idea of a piano's wake.

"The piano, when it's all done up and looking amazing, it's gorgeous," she said.

"But what's behind the cabinet is 10,000 parts of wood, metal, felt, wire and copper wound strings."

Howell said the piano can be a temperamental instrument, susceptible to contracting or expanding in different weather conditions.

Sometimes pianos are passed down through families and get to the point where they can no longer be tuned.

"They are treasured heirlooms that people really hold on to, there's all this memory and family connection to a piano," Howell said.

"When they do come to the end of their life, people just leave them or give them away, but somebody else has to deal with it."

While Howell's long term goal is to have an interactive exhibition with different sculptures made of piano parts as well as a live music element, she has spent the last few weeks working on a smaller version and honing in on ideas.

This has included using photography to create a stop motion animation of the piano.

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Part of the Seedpod residency involves inviting the public into the creative process to aid in development and experimentation.

Howell's temporary studio, at 41 Lydiard Street North, will be open on May 18 and 19 from 4.30 to 6.30pm.

She said this was an unusual part of her practice, as you typically do not invite audiences into music rehearsal spaces.

"But I think it's really fantastic for audiences to see an insight into the creative process," she said.

"It's a good opportunity for people to come in if they have an interest in art, cameras or musical instruments."

The sessions will become an almost "quirky wake", with a graveyard of parts on the floor and other pieces reused into new artwork.

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Through Howell's work tuning pianos, she said you can often find different pieces of a family's story.

"It's interesting every time I open up a piano you find little bits and pieces inside - coins, batteries, a hair comb, guitar picks, kids toys or dice," she said.

"I found a telephone once.

"The top of the piano can become a bit of a bench.

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