Instrument Transformations

THE STORY

The One Who Sees is a hand-painted and engraved cello sculpture exploring divine presence, perception, memory, and witness through layered symbolic storytelling. Covering the surface of the instrument are engraved scenes, animals, celestial imagery, scripture-inspired symbolism, and original cipher markings that transform the cello into a living narrative object.

SYMBOLISM

At the center of the work are watchful eyes containing both sun and moon imagery, symbolizing sight across light and darkness, day and night, the visible and the unseen. Throughout the instrument, engraved forms emerge in layered chapters — giraffes beneath acacia trees, lions, birds, water imagery, human figures, sacred symbols, and pathways of encoded language — all connected through flowing line work and rhythmic patterning.

PROCESS

The surface was sanded smooth, painted and stained in layered earth, crimson, green, and black tones, then hand-engraved to reveal the lighter wood beneath. This subtractive process creates illuminated marks that feel uncovered rather than applied, allowing the imagery to appear like memory, spirit, and story emerging from within the instrument itself.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Rather than functioning as a single scene, The One Who Sees operates as a journey through observation and revelation — exploring the idea that creation, history, suffering, worship, and identity all exist fully within divine sight. Part of Deseré Mayo’s evolving Instrument Art series, the work transforms the cello into a sacred visual archive where sound, scripture, ancestry, nature, and spirit coexist as one interconnected testimony.

MATERIALS & TECHNIQUES

Hand engraved

Hand painted

Mixed media

Broken instrument

Original Design by Mayo cipher

One-of-a-kind artwork

THE STORY

The Word Guiding the Song is a hand-painted and engraved violin silhouette artwork exploring the relationship between sound, spirit, creation, and divine direction.

SYMBOLISM

Centered within the composition is a flowing whale form layered with intricate symbolic patterning, representing movement, wisdom, and song carried through deep waters. Curving through the body of the whale is a musical line that visually moves like both melody and current, symbolizing the unseen Word guiding the song itself. Surrounding water tones shift from deep blue to green, creating the feeling of emergence, life, and spiritual motion beneath the surface.

PROCESS

The wooden surface was sanded, painted in layered oceanic tones, and engraved by hand to reveal lighter linework beneath the painted finish. This subtractive process allows the imagery to appear illuminated from within, giving the piece a sense of quiet depth and movement.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Part of Deseré Mayo’s evolving Instrument Art series, The Word Guiding the Song transforms the violin silhouette into a meditation on guidance, creation, and sacred rhythm — where music becomes more than sound, and movement becomes testimony.

MATERIALS & TECHNIQUES

Hand engraved

Hand painted

Mixed media

Broken instrument

Original Design by Mayo cipher

One-of-a-kind artwork

THE STORY

We Thirst for You is a hand-engraved broken front panel of a cello artwork exploring creation, dependence, and divine provision through layered natural imagery and flowing movement.

SYMBOLISM

The piece features a winding river connecting mountains, trees, wildlife, sky, and shelter — symbolizing life sustained through an unseen source. At the base of the composition, a deer bends to drink from the water, embodying longing, renewal, and spiritual dependence. Above, an eagle moves across the landscape while engraved symbolic cipher markings weave throughout the surface, creating the feeling of an ancient visual language carried through nature itself.

PROCESS

The wooden surface was sanded smooth and engraved by hand, revealing lighter tones beneath the stained finish and allowing the imagery to emerge through subtraction and exposure. The flowing river acts as the central movement of the piece, visually connecting every living element across the instrument form.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Part of Deseré Mayo’s evolving Instrument Art series, We Thirst for You transforms the violin silhouette into a meditative landscape where scripture, sound, creation, and spirit become one continuous visual prayer.

MATERIALS & TECHNIQUES

Hand engraved

Stained wood finish with exposed natural wood linework

Mixed media

Broken instrument

Original Design by Mayo cipher

One-of-a-kind artwork

THE STORY

Psalm 104 in Motion is a hand-painted and engraved violin silhouette artwork inspired by the movement of creation and the life spoken into the waters in Genesis 1:20–21.

SYMBOLISM

Flowing throughout the surface are marine forms, plant life, and rhythmic oceanic patterns that transform the violin silhouette into a visual meditation on scripture, sound, and divine creation. Paired conceptually with The Word Guiding the Song, this work reflects the moment life emerges and multiplies within the waters — creation responding to the spoken Word. Whales, fish, jellyfish, shells, and flowing plant forms move together across the composition like living currents, creating the feeling of an underwater psalm unfolding in motion.

PROCESS

The wooden surface was sanded smooth, painted in layered blue tones, and hand-engraved to reveal the lighter wood beneath the painted finish. This subtractive process allows the imagery to emerge like light beneath water, giving the piece depth, movement, and a sense of living rhythm.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Part of Deseré Mayo’s evolving Instrument Art series, Psalm 104 in Motion transforms the violin silhouette into a sacred visual landscape where scripture, sound, water, and creation exist in continuous harmony.

MATERIALS & TECHNIQUES

Hand engraved

Hand painted

Mixed media

Broken instrument

Genesis 1:20–21 conceptual pairing

Original Design by Mayo cipher

One-of-a-kind artwork

THE STORY

The Hanna-Barbera Crescendo is a transformed drum set artwork by Deseré Mayo celebrating the animated characters, stories, and cultural memories that shaped generations of Saturday morning television.

SYMBOLISM

Featuring hand-engraved illustrations inspired by classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, the work transforms musical instruments into immersive storytelling surfaces where animation, nostalgia, music, and visual art intersect. Characters, symbols, and rhythmic imagery wrap around the drums, inviting viewers to move around the installation and discover new details from every angle.

PROCESS

The original plastic covering was removed from the drum shells to expose the natural wood beneath. Each Hanna-Barbera character was then hand-burned directly into the wood, allowing the grain and engraved linework to work together as part of the composition. The finished surfaces were sealed with polyurethane, protecting the artwork while enhancing the warmth and character of the wood.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Part of the larger Saturday Morning Soundtrack series, Hanna-Barbera Crescendo explores how beloved cartoons become part of our collective memory—carried forward through laughter, imagination, music, and storytelling. By transforming an entire drum set into a hand-engraved installation, Mayo invites viewers to walk around the work, rediscover familiar characters, and experience childhood nostalgia through the language of rhythm, craftsmanship, and visual art.

MATERIALS & TECHNIQUES

Hand engraved

Hand painted

Mixed media

Non-playable drum set

One-of-a-kind artwork

Art That Honors Who We Are

INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMATIONS

Where Broken instruments become works of art.

FEATURED TRANSFORMATION

The One Who Sees

The Word Guiding the Song

We Thirst for You

Psalms 104 in Motion

Hanna-Barbera Crescendo

Artwork That Honors who we are