Second Community Piano Unveiled In Redwood City: A Vibrant Tribute To 'Living The Life'

REDWOOD CITY, CA — The Redwood City Improvement Association's Sights, Sounds & Tastes Campaign is focusing on cultural experiences, and recently unveiled an art installation featuring a community baby grand piano titled "Living the Life."

The new artistic centerpiece was unveiled on Wednesday in the new County building at 500 County Center.

The piano is a creation of Filipino Chinese artist Christine Ong-Dijcks, who adorned it with a design meant to celebrate the natural beauty and simple joys of life in Redwood City. It is the second of three community pianos planned for the downtown area as part of the Piano Design Project.

Art Reflects Local Life and Whimsy

Ong-Dijcks, who has a background in interior design and taught herself oil painting after moving to the Bay Area, infuses her work with warmth, vibrancy and a touch of whimsy. Her design for “Living the Life” merges Redwood City's natural splendor with the innocent joy of children blowing bubbles, symbolizing life’s simple pleasures — music, dance and play in the city’s many parks.

When discussing the inspiration behind the name and design, Ong-Dijcks emphasized a desire to highlight the positive aspects of living in the region.

"We experience beautiful landscapes, diverse communities, and exciting and evolving downtowns in our daily lives," she told Patch. “Redwood City's vibrant downtown and captivating parks make life interesting for adults, teens, and kids."

Ong-Dijcks told Patch that this feeling of gratitude and appreciation is what led to the "Living the Life" concept and the resulting artwork.

A Canvas of Color and Imagination

The artist’s personal experiences — her Filipino heritage, travels, and life in the Bay Area — are richly woven into the piano's tapestry.

She told Patch about the importance she places on children exploring the outdoors, an idea that inspired the imagery of kids in poppy fields and playing in the park.

Ong-Dijcks intentionally infused her design with vibrant color, drawing from local scenery such as "driving on 280 with all the rolling golden hills and seeing the California poppies everywhere." She used the bright orange and rolling hills to give the piano a strong sense of place.

To reflect the Bay Area’s culture of innovation and creativity, she incorporated images of children creating bubbles of imagination.

"As the bubbles float through the sky, they reflect art and culture through music, movement through dance and building community and future innovators through children playing in the park," she told Patch.

Overcoming the Creative Challenge

While Ong-Dijcks typically paints on a straightforward canvas, working on a baby grand piano presented a unique challenge, primarily in the preparation phase.

"With a piano, the biggest challenge was the prep work,” she told Patch. “Since you cannot just paint over the varnish on the piano, I had to strip off all the original finish, and then prepare all the little nooks and crannies with gesso."

Despite the initial apprehension, she found the grand piano's shape to be an excellent canvas, lending itself to an intricate and expansive design that enabled her to tell her story. Ultimately, her hope is that as someone plays the piano, the audience will be transported to this imaginary world as they see the images on the piano and it blends with a lovely tune, Ong-Dijcks told Patch.

The piano unveiling is one of several projects under the Sights, Sounds & Tastes campaign aimed at bringing melodic tunes and local art to the downtown community.