A sweet, gentle melodic theme taken from French 19th Century composer Saint Saens Organ Symphony in C Minor, If I Had Words has also featured in the UK charts as a vocal single and on the Soundtrack to the Babe film.

This piece speaks of bedtime stories, snow outside and the love shared by family everywhere.

This piece pays homage to my favorite composer - JS Bach.

Bach composed pieces for Keyboard called "Inventions" as musical exercises for his students. I wanted to capture the elegant motion of Bach and Baroque music in general, and translate it into today's world -with a neoclassical felted piano sound and a modern melodic theme.

Our collaborating artist for “Re-invention” is Debra Lee Cheyne and her label Butterscotch Castle, who have been featured at New York Fashion Week.  Butterscotch Castle use over manufactured Unwanted Shirts to create all of their designs.

They are a sustainable fashion label making designs that style Multiple ways …and looking at how we can Reinvent fashion into New designs. Debra deconstructs the shirts into uniquely handcrafted one of a kind pieces. Each piece is hand-made with precision.

TUXEDO JACKET ... This fabulous multi-wear fashion garment has been uniquely handcrafted from two over-manufactured business shirts. A statement design meticulously made with tuck sleeves drawstring ruching, flowing shirt front With Jacket tails ! This design can be worn multiple ways from a long jacket to a short Bomber jacket ..

Reinventing is one of Debra’s passions and can be seen in all her designs.

https://butterscotchcastle.com.au/

Tea is so much more than a drink... it is a ritual. A way of sharing, of remembering, of reflecting. It's about taking a quiet moment, either together or alone, to just be. Often, some of out fondest memories are of sharing tea with our grandmother... and as we get older, it increasingly becomes a way to connect, and to share. 

Tea, to many of us, is a drink of comfort. To warm us up and slow us down. When someone is upset we often offer a cup of tea and sit down with them. Tea and sympathy. Now most people use Tea bags. Each time discarding the used bag. But the paper from the Tea bag has the character of the Tea imbued in it. Each one unique and dare I say beautiful. Many Tea bags from lots of friends and family have gone into these artworks. It is a patchwork made from many moments of sitting down and drinking tea.

With these works I aim to evoke a feeling of nostalgia and reflection. Inviting you to be present and contemplate your own memories and experiences.

Michelle Bowden

For sale: enquire artsalon1@hotmail.com

Etude is a French word meaning “Study”. Traditionally, an etude is a short, tricky tune that a musician plays mainly for practice or to demonstrate skill. Well-known composers like Debussy and Chopin wrote piano etudes that continue to be used for teaching beginning musicians.

As a musician and composer, sometimes the most intimate relationship we have is with our piano. It’s how we express ourselves, how we translate our feelings into music that can be shared. I wrote “Etude” about that relationship -  exploring its highs and lows, it’s speed and it’s rest, it’s passion and it’s gentleness. Such is the flow of music… and of life.

Transcribed by Brendan Kelly

Since Etude is a study in piano, my collaborating artist for this project is a transcriber of sheet music.  The way Brendan  transcribes is truly an art… capturing not only the correct notes, but also the feeling and expression of a piece in a way that I never could.  And in addition to this talent, Brendan also creates beautiful music of his own. You can read more about him here.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to play Etude yourself, you can download the first 2 pages of Brendan’s beautiful  transcription here, or purchase the full version below for $3.95AUD.

Old bookstores are a door into another world. They are filled with nostalgia, memories and a sweet, gentle sadness. They are places of reflection and mystery, holding the stories of lives past and dreams forgotten.

“Of Old Books & Faded Dreams” captures the dreamy quiet melancholy of the old bookstore and the lives of those who inhabit it.

Follow the links below to listen… or check out the wonderful Bookstore Piano Spotify playlist which features this track, lovingly created by Pianoscapes by Nathan Seiler

Each release from Piano Within includes a collaboration with an artist. For “Of Old Books and Faded Dreams” I've again connected with the wonderful Terina Smith who has created a piece very dear to my heart. Terina Is not only fiercely creative and a wonderful sculptor, she is also a passionate environmentalist… and embodies her beliefs by creating art from things that have been thrown away.

And now here’s where it becomes relevant to me. Terina salvages old pianos that have been dumped and creates art from them, such as you see here with these beautiful bookends.

Explore more of Terina’s wonderful work here … or if you’re in south East Queensland, treat yourself with a visit to her amazing gallery at The Emporium in Kalbar.

The people, the pieces and the experiences from our past are the building blocks that shape us. Like the potter moulding the clay they make us who we are.

Of course, we always have the power to change what we wish to in the present… but we also need to honour the gifts that the past has given us.

“From Another Time” is dedicated to the people who raised me, who supported me, and who made me who I am.

In Terina’s words…

“I am creatively sparked by the old, broken and unusable and reimagining into something beautiful and meaningful. I love to re-imagine, redesign and recreate!”

On collaborating with Piano Within’s “From Another Time” to create “Cigars and Books”…

“Its history whispers of more elegant times – created from an old cigar case, an early 1900s algebra book and reclaimed copper – made with love for the human race. Mother Earth and beautiful music”

Explore more of Terina’s wonderful work here … or if you’re in south East Queensland, treat yourself with a visit to her amazing gallery at The Emporium in Kalbar.

If you were holding the world in your hands, what would you say to it?

Mad World inspires us to reflect on the power we have in our own hands… in a world where it is very easy to feel disempowered.

When we see conflict, we can choose harmony

When we see violence, we can choose peace

When we see division, we can choose inclusion

When we see hate, we can choose love

“Be the change you want to see” – Ghandi

My "State of Being" series are monotype prints.  I love working in the abstract and letting the subconscious take over. 

There is a certain point of flow that all artists encounter where you let go and let it all unfold. Often in this state of being we are delving into our subconscious and the imagery becomes something separate to ourselves.

These ethereal images are floating abstracts but somehow familiar shapes. Simple but also complex.   

In this mad world we need to delve deep inside ourselves for the answers that we seek. 

We all live in two worlds. This is a tale of the broken and the beautiful. The forgotten and the eternal. The past and the now.

In Japanese folklore, yōkai (妖怪) refers to legendary ghosts, monsters, and spirits. Rooted in Japanese animism, ancient Japanese religion, and the providence of nature, these mythical creatures are attributed with strange behaviors to explain the otherwise mysterious phenomena encountered in ancient life.

Kintsugi – Beauty in Strength & Imperfections

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art.

The Japanese metaphor of kintsugi is all about embracing imperfections and making damage and scars beautiful, in a way that shows the changes they've been through but honouring the imperfections, rather than hiding them away.

Kintsugi reminds us that there is great beauty in broken things because scars tell a story. They demonstrate fortitude, wisdom, and resilience, earned through the passage of time.

The idea translates to our own lives. “Do not hide in the shadow of your own sunshine. Do not dim your own light with the darkness of a cloud.” Instead, let those scars be redrawn with gold.

This stunning piece and other examples of Kintsugi can be found at Nola and David’s beautiful country restaurant, Entangled on the Hill

(The Girl – a poem by Jacquelin Sheargold)

Slow down and let creation happen. In the stillness of silent meditation, visions of magical moments appear. Introduce gentle music and the scene is set for the magic to appear on the canvas. 

Created in conjunction with “The Allure of Waves”, Noosa based mixed media, textile and ceramic artist Karen Robinson’s heartfelt, beautiful and whimsical piece totally harmonizes with the mood of the music.

If I Told You that I Love You” – Mixed media, silver leaf, 1,5 x 1.2 m on canvas. $2400

Contact Karen and see more of her wonderful art at www.instagram.com/karennah/

Apparently it came from Tahiti. Procured on one of his seafaring quests. Sometimes she swore she still smelt the ocean in his hair... a wild salty scent of brine and brazen adventure.

As she turned it in her hand It shimmered in the lamp light... a mystical luminous object from another world calling her heart to far off places.... and dreams that would never be.

Working on this project has been such a joy. I was encouraged to make a piece based on the emotions I felt from this composition. I was given just a few words about a man gifting his loved one a South Sea Island pearl. As I listened to "The Pearl" the whole story revealed itself. She is of the forest. He is of the sea. Whilst they love each other they acknowledge that to grow as individuals they need to follow what calls them. They meet often. When they're apart she sees him in the north star, he looks to her across the horizon.

Her piece. South Sea pearl, aventurine, sterling silver, silk thread. Based on his sextant. A sextant measures the angle between the horizon and a celestial body. 

Photography by Michelle Bowden

See more of Beth’s beautiful work at https://www.instagram.com/beche_collective 

She gently closed the lid of the piano, and as the full moon rose high, she crept past the plantation shutters and across the shimmering green lawn to the forest. Her slim form glided through stooping magnolia trees, spanish moss hanging heavily from the branches, feet crunching on the fallen leaves. She saw his sparkling eyes first… then she heard his voice, gentle and deep like caramel. “Walk softly my love”, he said, “So we disturb not the night... nor the beauty.”

Thank you so much for inviting me to join you on this special project. Your music has been so much a part of my life for which I feel privileged. Capturing the feel of the music on canvas is a challenge but the good type. There is a bit of a tradition of painters and musicians sharing ideas across their disciplines.

The first time I created a piece relating to specific music I was in a Cathedral with live musicians. The piece turned out to be dramatic and a little discordant. It was the atmosphere of the music coming out visually.

This time with "Walk softly, my love" playing in the quiet of my home I was able to absorb the harmony and peace of the music. While in the flow I went to the forest with the lovers under a full moon. If you listen carefully you hear the rustle of the leaves in a gentle breeze. Visually capturing the atmosphere created by the music has been a joy.

Director and founder of Warrior Women in Art, curator at the gallery :the mezzanine: as well as the current Chair of COSSAG, Michelle is absorbed in all things art. She has a thriving arts practice which incorporates creating, events management, curation and mentoring.

Michelle works with a variety of mediums; painting, sculpture, photography and video. Her art is as varied as her influences from abstract expressionism to pop art.

Michelle’s art has reached audiences in Brisbane, Melbourne, Australia, New York, Milan and Helsinki.

More at: Michelle Bowden Art

She had never seen so many people in that room. But as he drew her gently into his arms and began to glide her around the piano and across the floor, the other dancers seemed to fade and disappear, leaving her alone in his embrace. Her head spun from the wine, from the humid night and from the tingling feeling of his warm body pressed against her. And in that instance time itself seemed to stop. She wanted that moment to last forever, but sadly, she knew that it couldn’t.

The word encaustic originates from the Greek word enkaustikos which means to burn in. It is used to describe both the paint itself, and the method for using it.  The oldest surviving encaustic paintings are the Romano-Egyptian Fayum mummy portraits from Egypt around 100–300 AD. A painted portrait of the deceased was placed over the persons mummy as a memorial.  These 2000 year old encaustic works reveal the archival quality of this ancient medium.

The effects portrayed in my paintings are the result of traditional encaustic techniques, with a variety of exploratory methods incorporating the use of shalac and alcohol inks, “burnt” to create beautiful lace like effects. The encaustic process involves melting beeswax and combining with pigments and demar resin.  This molten medium is applied to a surface and fused with heat. Demar resin raises the melting point of the wax and hardens the finished surface to create a lustrous enamel like effect. This luster can be maintained by occasionally buffing the surface with a clean cotton cloth. The layering of the encaustics creates a fluidity, luminosity and depth that is richly emotive.

You can find (and purchase) more of Nola’s incredible work at https://www.instagram.com/art.bynola/

Or if you’d like to see them in person they are currently on display at Entangled on the Hill

It was on a steamy, late summer evening that he first brought her flowers. Their sweet pungent perfume lingered in the still, humid night air, along with his warm musky scent. She left them on the piano, and as their leaves dried and their petals fell over the keys, she remembered him with soft, gentle sadness… the dying flowers an ephemeral wilting reminder of a fleeting moment of bliss.

I was swept away into another universe as soon as the gentle sounds of "Remembering Flowers" began to play. My imagination was flooded with images of velvety rose petals, smooth ivory keys, and gentle rays of warm sunbeams reflecting across sensual skin and worn floor boards. I felt an overwhelming urge to create something soft, beautiful and feminine...   Read More