The Tuba took four chapters and a lunch break

A battered brass tuba came to the studio, dull and brown. I filmed the whole build and gave it chapters, like a little book. Here they are in my order, with the stills from the two films.

The finished Tuba lamp switched on at the studio, brass goosenecks curving out of the bell, Keren at the left of the frame — The end of the film: switched on, at the studio on Frankfurter Allee.

Building a new lamp, sharing the process and can’t wait for the next part!

I usually don’t film my work. I am too busy with my hands, and honestly I forget. But this tuba was so beautiful and so sad at the same time that I wanted people to see the whole way, from the first scratch to the first light.

There is no talking in the films, only my titles on the screen. Part one goes from the dull brass to a walnut stand. Part two is the fun part, and it ends with the lights on. In the middle of both there is lunch, because I was a chef for many years and a chef never skips lunch.

From dull brass to a walnut stand

The patina is the first fight. Under it the brass is still there, waiting, but you have to work for it. A wire brush on the drill, then by hand around the valves, then polish and polish again until the brown turns gold. A tuba this size cannot stand on its own, so it needed a stand, and I made it from walnut.

Keren wire-brushing a tarnished tuba on the bench with a drill — **Chapter one: removing the patina.**Wire brush on a drill, straight onto the dull brass.

Hands working on the tuba's valves on a green bench full of tools — **Chapter two: fine tuning.**The valves and tubing, by hand.

A pot of spaghetti and a plate on a chopping board — **Lunch break.**Spaghetti, garlic, a chopping board. A chef never skips this chapter.

Polishing the tuba at the bench — **Chapter three: polishing.**Dull brown back to warm gold.

Keren clamping a wooden stand next to a mitre saw — **Chapter four: building a stand.**A walnut base, cut and clamped.

Keren drilling the walnut stand — **Then drilled.**The film ends on my next title: Now comes the fun part.

Stills from my film, part one, 6 March 2025.

Now comes the fun part

This is the moment I wait for in every lamp. The object stops being a tuba on a bench and starts to become a light. The brass goosenecks go into the bell, one by one, and I test, and test again. “Testing 1 2 3.” Then a lunch break, of course, and back to work.

The studio, wide: Keren at her bench, shelves and parts drawers, reclaimed timber beams on the floor — **Tuba Lamp**The opening title, over the studio.

Keren concentrating at the base of the tuba, now upright on a walnut stand — **Testing 1 2 3**The tuba upright on its walnut stand.

Lunch on a chopping board beside a hot plate — **Lunch time!!!!**Part two has one too.

Keren kneeling at the bench, threading brass goosenecks into the tuba's bell — **Back to work. Almost there!!!**Threading the brass goosenecks into the bell.

Stills from my film, part two, 11 March 2025.

The Tuba lamp, lit: a brass tuba on a walnut base with brass gooseneck arms and Edison bulbs

Once a tuba, now a floor lamp

Polished brass, a walnut stand, brass goosenecks with Edison filament bulbs. One of one.

It still looks like it could play. I love it in a big room with high ceilings, or in a bar where people listen to records. It makes light music now.

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