Musical Instruments – Part 2

1. Violaphone Viola by Shelly Riebe

2. Ivory Floral Violin by Winnie Lamartine

Winnie Lamartine has been a member of The Los Alamos Concert Association Board for 7 years. Her inspiration for this violin is what she calls Grandma’s house art. She loves vintage pieces and colors eclectically mixed.

3. Victorian Violin by Wendi Dunn

Wendi says, “I was inspired by a Victorian painting by Charles Burton Barber called, ‘The Broken String.’ In order to get a 3-D effect, I cut a hole in the violin and used 3-D Decoupage techniques to make the image stand out, then added a tiny ‘string’ made from silver thread. I painted the violin front with a faux tortoiseshell treatment and added elegant fabric trim to finish off this very Victorian Violin. To see more of my art, visit www.wendidunn.com.”

4. Butterfly Violin by Tami Gonzales

As a valued member of the Village Arts staff, Tami has years of experience framing works of art. She used her many talents to give a shabby violin new life. Tami says she was inspired by the shape of the violin and wanted to capture a feeling of rebirth, so she transformed the violin into a beautiful golden butterfly.

5. Pointillist Viola by Becky Titus Taylor

Prisma Light Studio artist Rebecca Titus Taylor specializes in lively colorful abstract paintings & mandalas, especially combining traditional & digital techniques. She also collects and hand-paints old records with a lyrical, highly detailed style, then warps them to form bowls, clocks, mirrors, & whimsical sculpture. Much of her work is available online at PrismaLightStudio.com.

6. Little Blue Dragons Viola by Sabrina Civale

7. Sugar Skull Violin by Debra Gardner

Debra says, “I really enjoyed working on the violins (so much so that I did two). It was a challenge to work on such an unconventional shape with no restrictions on the outcome. I am usually a hunter gatherer artist. My work is a combination of items from my collections of ‘treasures’ and art materials. I am the person who walks with their head down looking for bits of glass or rusty pieces and such to use in my constructions. I was an art teacher for many years in Los Alamos — especially with elementary students. I love the whimsey and charm of children’s artwork, and try to capture some of that in my own work.”

8. Nature Rocks Violin by Chris Judson

Chris is a park ranger who has been at Bandelier National Monument since she transferred there from Yellowstone in 1976. She wanted the work she did on the violin to reflect the relationship between music, musicians, and nature.

9. Tree Mixed Media Violin by Liz Martineau

Liz says, “I am a fiber and mixed-media artist.  I am also a teacher who enjoyed ‘going out on a limb’ to help support the arts in our public school system. This piece grew from the idea that music has a transformative power.”

10. Aqua Abstract Violin by Dianna Shomaker

Dianna says, “To me it feels like all the air up to the sky is filled with music. So I started with a suggestion of skies to be filled with music. Then I added a large abstracted flower bed of notes gathering at the bottom of the violin and gradually moving up to the neck until it reaches the final thread of a beautiful strain and leaves you with a dreamy quality of enjoyment. Supporting all that was a sense of rhythm that began pouring out of the sound holes, represented by piano keys accompanying the melody and the journey it was creating for us. All of it leaving us with the depth and heights beyond our ability to describe, and the feeling of calm, tranquility and peace.”

11. Beaded Strings Violin by Ann Greene

Ann says, “This violin is part of the history of Los Alamos, and I wanted to reflect that. So I depicted a young family and their dog with snowcapped mountains behind them. They stand atop the earth with a stylized river flowing through it. Floating above their heads is a Native American symbol of the oneness with nature and the stars.”

12. Gypsy Fiddle Violin by Gayla Myers

Gayla says, “Bright colors and fabric are two of my many passions. This project was out of my comfort zone since I am a quilter by choice and do not consider myself an artist. Although I can follow instructions well, none came with this violin. I had several starts and stops, but ‘Gypsy’ ended up with bright colors and fabric – sort of like a quilt – I guess not a big surprise after all.”