Andrea Lawrence has been an artist, published poet and photographer for 40 years. She lives in what may arguably be one of the most beautiful locations in the RM of Longlaketon. Lawrence lives in a converted 1901 Presbyterian Church along the Qu'Appelle valley floor off of highway 6. From her home, she has incredible views of the expanse of the valley and its rolling hills as a backdrop to her daily life.
Along with the million-dollar view, she also does something that's been referred to as 'euphoric' and perhaps, for some, is more akin to 'sacrilegious.' Andrea burns pianos.
Lawrence laughs as she said a keyboardist friend joked that maybe he would start burning cameras just to even things up.
She describes taking what began as necessary and turned it into an art form for her photography, sharing the experience with other photographers.
Lawrence describes having strong ties to the valley. Her grandfather was Reverend William H Tingey, and when his first parish, St. Mary's Anglican Church, at Cupar became available in 2013, she had it moved to her acreage. She uses the church as her studio and for extra space.
Artists always have super interesting pieces and oddities in their creative space, and Lawrence is no exception. A massive stone she has for sale, which would have been dug from the area, is tucked into her hedge, vintage vehicles, and if you ever wondered what happened to the buffalo days buffalo and the little guy who rode him, went? Yep, she's got them both; while not riding the buffalo any longer and in need of some repair from their dismantling at Regina Exhibition Park, being able to see it up close is chock-full of nostalgia from the days the figures towered over the annual fairgrounds.
Lawrence says the piano burning started when a neighbour brought over an old piano they no longer wanted five years ago. Initially, she intended to move it into the church, but if you have ever tried to move a piano, you would not be surprised to find that it never made it to its intended location. Instead, it sat outside, under the church's eaves and over time, it was ruined by the elements.
So that's when she had her first piano burn. She invited photographers and initially had a group of 12 attend. Over the years, she burnt another two pianos, and she has taken some very interesting photos. A pianist plays while the keys burn, and in others, a model is draped over the piano's lid.
My first thought was about the danger of grass fires, especially in the valley. However, the recent fire ban in the RM had been rescinded, and Lawrence has taken precautions with her fourth burn. (see RM's recommendations below for controlled burns)
How to Burn a Piano
Youtube video
A small group has gathered for this piano burn, and it's a beautiful, calm, warm summer night with a full moon rising above the valley hills. Lawrence live streams the event and has past burns up on her YouTube Channel as 'How to Burn a Piano'.
She believes this piano came from a school, and she has placed it on the gravel and dirt driveway. The back and front portion of the piano was removed by someone who helped themselves to the wood and was beyond saving. She piles brush behind it, after lit, gives the effect of the flames bursting from behind. Eventually, the flames catch the piano's interior, and the entire process of the burn takes a full 35 minutes.
"Each one burns different; that's what makes it so cool and unique," Lawrence says.
The heat is intense, and it's surprising how well a piano burns. Every stage of the piano giving way to the flames is beautiful. The sound of the high tensioned tuning strings popping, the keys turn completely charcoal black, and eventually, the makers' plate reveals itself to be a Howard Cabinet Piano.
Eventually, you can see the cast iron plate, the piece of the piano that holds all of the weight that withstands the tension of the strings. Lawrence has another leaning up against her fence line, and she encourages people to see how heavy it is, noting it's not the wood from the piano that makes it heavy it's the plate.
Lawrence surmises that she perhaps should've looked inside the piano in case someone has stashed money inside, but it's clearly too late to do that now.
Eventually, the keyboard and the front legs give way, but the cast iron plate keeps it upright. Lawrence's son is on hand with the hose for any creeping flames, and eventually, they decide to give the old piano its last hurrah, and it's knocked onto its back and away from any potentially flammable weeds.
The piano is allowed to burn to ash, and in the morning, Andrea will go through it with a metal detector because sometimes little treasures lost are found again. In a past piano, Lawrence found coins, an old barber's clippers, a locket and a knife.
Piano burning is an art in itself, and for Lawrence's "How to Burn a Piano," it'll be interesting to see how the next one burns.
See more of Andrea's work at https://andrea-lawrence.pixels.com/
*note* The RM of Longlaketon advises people call the control burn line BEFORE they burn 1-866-404-4911 "any type of open fire should be reported to control burn, that way if someone was driving past and called 911 then the 911 dispatch would see that you have a controlled burn and call you to ensure that it is still under control. If a control burn was not called in then 911 dispatch would immediately call the fire department and they would arrive, resulting in an invoice from them." The minimum charge of a fire dispatch is $4,000 for three hours.
- Jenifer Argue, LMT reporter