Cardboard Harp Making Workshop
By Loni Fitzpatrick
In the lush Kuranda rainforest perched above the Barron River is the humble abode of artist Sandi Steffensen. A beautifully manicured garden filled with an array of tropical natives and home to a bustling collection of butterflies and birds at day and a starry sky’s worth of fireflies at night. Sandi’s home is truly magical and inspiring which made it the perfect spot to spend a weekend with a wholesome group of harp lovers and appreciators creating nine new baby cardboard harps for the FNQ area.
The weekend began with welcoming everyone – reintroducing a few regular faces to the FNQ Harp Connection and welcoming in a few new aspiring ones. Without hesitation we dived in to unpacking our new babies and got straight into the hard work. First order of business was sanding away at the frame. For some, this was therapeutic and I must admit after I calmed my excitement to finally have a cardboard harp and just enjoy the process it really did become quite meditative. Watching the frame slowly take shape from a splintery piece of wood to a beautifully smooth and personally crafted piece of timber was rather satisfying. As some of us took a generous amount of time to smooth over the final touches of the frame others were on to putting their first coat of paint on the cardboard soundbox. Break time on the back deck included tea, coffee, biscuits and a delicious selection of locally sought fresh fruits kindly donated by Cairns Produce – a decadent platter! It was hard to pull ourselves away from the tranquillity, watching the butterflies dance around the flowers and the mesmerising glimmering flow of the Barron River. But work had to be done and harps had to be made!
By the end of day one all the frames were screwed, glued and sanded, the cardboard painted and folded into soundboxes, and both parts assembled and glued together to form a legitimate looking harp. While most retired for the evening to get some much needed and well-earned rest, a few of us busy bees worked into the evening to ensure everyone’s harps were put together to sit and set overnight. Pizza on the back deck and a light show by the fireflies made for a magical end to a very productive day.
We reconvened at 9am the next morning back at Sandi’s for the stringing of the harps, touch ups and final protective sealer coats. First order of business – coffee and tea! Of course, no work would get done without a cuppa first. The harps all looked fabulous lined up in the art studio. Blues and pinks, lilacs and greens, gold and terracotta, clouds, rainforests, Egyptian and Irish symbols, ferns, flowers and even puppy pawprints, as the weekend progressed it was inspiring to see the transformation of everyone’s harps from a flatpack sheet of cardboard to an individual artistic masterpiece.
It was such a wholesome and humbling weekend creating our very own instruments to take home and enjoy. The process of assembling each part, paint each stroke and tune each string gave a sense of joy and pride for the creations we each made. Natalia and Sandi were the backbone of help over the course of the weekend, assisting with paint colours, soundbox artwork designs, screwing frames together, gluing soundboxes, stringing harps and so much more. I can safely say I speak on behalf of all who attended that their contribution was greatly appreciated. Our harps have that extra sparkle because of their help.
I must extend my deep gratitude to Bronwyn, Gretchen, Natalia and Sandi for all the hard work they put in to ensuring the weekend was well-equipped and truly unforgettable!
Loni Fitzpatrick
*Our cardboard harps are Fireside Harps, designed by Backyard Instruments.
