Being:Art

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Being:Art Being:Art was founded by artists/teachers Anne J. Froning and Sean Murphy. Our mission is to foster Creativity and expression are not priceless.

Being:Art is one of the few companies in the Unites States creating musical instruments for permanent outdoor installation. Our instruments are designed for ease of play by the non-musician and musician alike and they are highlighted as a unique piece of craft-art in outdoor classrooms across the country. The designs and material choices (including sustainably harvested hardwoods) must withstand the rigors of existing in an outdoor environment for years with a minimum amount of maintenance. Our first installation was installed in 2006 at the Arbor Day Farm’s Nature Explore Classroom in Nebraska City, NE and is still played by thousands every year! The service branch of Being:Art is unique because of our fusion of multiple art forms. These combinations include dance, music, design, yoga, craft, film, theatre, etc. Our performances, workshops, classes, and residencies seek to inspire others to find and develop their own creativity and self-fulfillment. Energy, time, love, and money are all needed to bring creative ideas to fruition!

10/21/2026

New Flute that came about as a happy accident!

It’s an end blown pentatonic in Eb made from Brazilian Ipe. Much in the style of a or

Spent the day creating a flute making program for our Next Wave CNC and trying it out! I was able to build a pair of ma...
10/01/2026

Spent the day creating a flute making program for our Next Wave CNC and trying it out! I was able to build a pair of matched walnut flute blanks. They’re glued up now and over the weekend I hope to tune them. They should be low D (we shall see once the tuning starts) pentatonic flutes.

Once I get the program down I’ll make some other designs for different keys and drones.

Stay tuned!

09/27/2026

Been a while since we made flutes over here at Being:Art LLC it I’ve had a few inquiries lately so we’re starting to make them again.

This is a low D flute made from old growth pine salvaged that used to be the stage floor at GPAC TN

I’ll finish tuniGPAC TNomorrow and start the finishing. Anne J. Froning will help Anne J. Froningutiful fe**sh for it from clay and in a week it’ll be complete.

If I’m happy with the finished product I’ll offer it for sale!

08/30/2026

Final table update before delivery.

I sprayed 3 coats of General Finishes 2k Poly over their nutmeg gel stain. If it’s unfamiliar to you, 2K is a water based polyurethane that uses a catalyst that makes it dry extraordinarily hard. It’s a perfect final coating for anything that will have heavy use but needs extreme durability. Not unlike epoxies and automotive paints.

Full cure in 5 days then we will deliver and install the table in its permanent home… I think the final weight is going to be approx 170lbs!

Music is The Mighty Souls from 1yr ago today for Sean Murphy year long daily practice.

08/22/2026

Latest table update: we had delays related to the heat and cupping issues that we resolved with heavy duty C Channrls but today we finally got to stain the top!

72 hour dry time and then we can start applying finish and then some more drying time before installing the legs and delivery!

For those interested we’re using General Finishes Gel Stain (nutmeg) for the stain and 2k Clear Poly for the final finish courtesy of The Woodwork Shop right here in Memphis!

Soundtrack is a guitar solo by Logan Hanna on James Brown’s “Ain’t it Funky Now” from a The Mighty Souls performance a few months back!

08/13/2026

Table update: we took a couple weeks off from the table we’re working on to focus on our production & custom instrument making projects (Fun Studio at Memphis Botanic Garden is officially open so if you’re in Memphis be sure to check it out!)

But we’re back at it this week with the finish line in sight! Yesterday was almost exclusively about sanding… lots and lots of sanding! And of course Joie the

Music is At Last performed by 𝐉𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 Octocats at a wedding reception a few months back!

07/20/2026

Table update. The top is almost completely flattened. One more pass tomorrow and it’ll be done so we can move on to the less dirty aspects of making a table!

Music is from a recent hot Memphis quartet gig…

07/16/2026

Table update! We just finished assembling the two halves of the table top. Tomorrow we plan to do final assembly on the top. Then the final cuts, flattening the slab, & finishing work can begin. But jointing and gluing up these 32 pieces of mahogany is the most physically demanding part of this so Sean is glad to be nearly done with it!

Music is a snippet of handpan improvisation by Sean… and not unlike something you might experience on 8/2 at his Sound Journey at the Green Room at Perhaps you should head to crosstownarts.org and get a ticket for the show!

Anne and Sean are working on another mahogany table! This one for Sean’s parents!Joie approves 😊😻
07/10/2026

Anne and Sean are working on another mahogany table! This one for Sean’s parents!

Joie approves 😊😻

Sometimes it’s nasty work in the shop! Finishing up a giant chime for
07/03/2026

Sometimes it’s nasty work in the shop! Finishing up a giant chime for

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Memphis, TN

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