Tipton Jones-Boiter

These images are where the idea for this exhibit  started...

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I've been creating music and art since I was a child but didn't put the two together until much later. I started experimenting with sound and color about 25 years ago by designing posters for my band using colors groups for certain musical keys.

Now, 25 years later I've fine tuned that a bit.

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As a music teacher I sometimes use art methods to help explain music methods (and vise versa with art students). For example, when young piano students ask what the sustain pedal is for, I ask if they've used watercolors before. Most of them have. I explain that when using the pedal, it makes the notes blend together like when you add water between two watercolors. That instantly makes sense to them. Also, to spark creativity, I ask students of any age what color does a chord or note sound like. What time of day, season or temperature does it sound like. Adults who don't foster creativity in their daily lives tend to have a hard time with those concepts. Kids don't skip a beat!​

 

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The drawing at the top of the page was an assignment I gave to a 6 year old student. I asked him to make up a song at home, using any keys, and write down the music using colors. The method of lines, how short they are, how far apart they are spaced, was his own method. Then I told him I would do a painting similar to his (the abstract under his drawing above) and see if he could play it. He immediately "read" the colors and made a song based on what the colors meant to him. 

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Months later, I decided to play through my painting as well. What came out of it sounded like "cat energy" to me. So I named it "Abstract Cat in Eb".

Have a listen!

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