feature story / 17 Success sparked a desire to devise another funky instrument, and two months later, Osner, who has always been curious about the cello but has never played one, started doodling cellos with super-sized gourd bodies. “I re- membered seeing a four string washtub bass with a bridge, and it occurred to me that a washtub is similar to a gourd and that the bottom of the washtub might work as a soundboard for a cello,” he says. (In a stringed in- strument, the vibration of the strings is transferred by way of the bridge – the piece of wood that holds the strings above the soundboard – to the soundboard itself, which then vibrates, adding volume and resonance.) Perhaps the steel base of the wash- tub, Osner mused, could receive the vibration of the strings and amplify them just like the goatskin on the ban- jolele. Is there life after laundry for the pedestrian metal washtub? Research and design took two months. Osner filled sketchbooks with drawings, puzzling out what kind of modifications he would need to imple- ment a washtub body. Unlike the rigid wooden body of a cello, his washtub would not be able to withstand the powerful tension of the strings with- out caving in. And Osner realized that the neck of the instrument, which on a Above left: Osner created this banjolele from a large gourd. Right: bracing for the neck of the cello needed to go all the way through the tub and be reinforced inside it. Sylvia Osner with her graduation gift, a banjolele hand made by her father, Jeremy. One of Osner's many drawings as he planned the design of the washtub cello. Our 62+ well-maintained community is located in the heart of vibrant South Orange Village near restaurants, shopping, parks, entertainment and transportation. Our carefree lifestyle includes plenty of social activities, engaging monthly programs, a live-in super and available kosher meals. Owned and managed by the Jewish Community Housing Corporation of Metropolitan New Jersey All Faiths and Beliefs Welcome Come Home to Our Village Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation Cheryl Kasye, Site Manager: 973-763-0999 110 Vose Ave., South Orange, NJ Take a Tour of Our Luxury Apartments One bedroom w/open floor plan, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, a walk-in shower and more. Now Accepting Applications.