Made in the Shade | Summer Letter from Piano Nobile
Sun study for a project in development, 2026
Dear Friends of Piano Nobile,
We are in the breathtaking span of weeks before the summer solstice, when spring becomes untidy and overripe, and each day drops a few more minutes of delicious sunlight into our cup. It’s the time of year when we start wearing sunglasses out of giddy optimism more than practical need. Here at the studio you’ll catch us staring out the window toward the east, over Green Lake, toward the distant Cascades, watching the morning sun.
The sun is the most important material we build with; it is the defining character of our spaces, and it is also the most destructive. Today we’re sharing two very different projects that both begin and end with sunlight: animated sun studies for a current design project, alongside our new collection of Cyanotype Trays.
Sun studies are an important part of the research we do on any architecture or landscape project, but for this one in particular, it is essential. A site-sensitive addition to a house that has undergone multiple renovations in the past hundred years, our project respectfully addresses the composition of sun rooms and roof decks on the south face of the house, incorporating sweeping views and a steep hillside.
Cyanotype Textile progress: from garden collage to light exposure to product, 2025
Our Cyanotype Tray Series is a sun study that began in the garden. We created a textile using everything that was growing in our garden on one day last July — it is a diary entry for the garden, written in sunlight and shadow. Cyanotype is one of the earliest photographic processes: objects placed on paper coated with a sun-sensitive emulsion block the sun, while exposed areas permit the chemical reaction that produces that beautiful dark blue color. The resulting trays carry the softness of faded summer shadows and the graphic clarity of botanical studies.
Summer workshops are now open, including a new family-friendly Cyanotype Workshop where we explore the same sun-printing process featured above.
Our new guest artist, Tom Deslongchamp, installs his show in our gallery this week. More on that below. We hope a few of our events and workshops make it onto your fun-filled summer schedule, alongside outdoor adventures and long sunny days.
As for us, seems like we’ve got it made in the shade.
IN OUR GALLERY
We met Tom Deslongchamp at a honky tonk birthday party, introduced by a friend in common. This auspicious meeting was followed by a studio visit, where our eyes positively bugged out of our heads like the cartoon characters Tom creates when we saw the absolutely prolific amount of work this artist creates.
From huge, moveable “good boy” graffiti portraits of cats to startlingly intimate, quiet portraits of friends, Tom’s work is impeccably detailed, earnest, and easy to love. And that’s to say nothing of his animations and Cartoon Mess Live, the live improv animation shows he produces.
We are completely thrilled to host him in our gallery this summer. Please join us to celebrate his work on July 10, when we’ll have a reception in the gallery as well as an interview with Tom about his studio practice. There might even be jokes.
PEOPLE AND ANIMALS | May 29 - July 31
Artist’s Reception + Gallery Talk | July 10, 6-8 pm
IN OUR PRINT SHOP
MEANWHILE, ON INSTAGRAM
