A pleasant spring day can turn a person's thoughts to lazing on the front porch, rocking gently on a swing as the fragrance of flowers wafts by. Sounds nice, right? But what if you could also make music with that swing, playing it like a xylophone?

Tor Clausen's musical porch swings -- built in his studio in an inner Southeast Portland warehouse building near the Willamette River -- turn that concept into reality.

The 41-year-old artist has been creating musical furniture for years, gradually employing more elaborate technology. A graduate of The Evergreen College with a degree in natural sciences and design, he lived in Olympia until moving to Portland three years ago in spring (his moving truck was parked on cherry blossoms, he recalls). Why Portland? "I needed a bigger city," he says, "with more people who understand what you're doing."

His pieces can be found at children's and science museums, hospital gardens and city parks around the world, according to his website.

He makes a variety of musical furniture -- tables, treasure chests, swings and garden benches. Fancy yourself as a drummer? His drum tables have percussion inserts that can be rearranged. Relatively new are his chime tables, which yield a more soothing, Zenlike sound.

And he's currently working out the kinks to create piano dance platforms, where he puts the innards of an old piano under a clear Plexiglas platform so kids can jump up and down to play music -- while also appreciating the craftsmanship of the piano.

He sells his work online --

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in action. The 60-inch-long bench is made of western red cedar, with stainless steel hardware, and is priced at $1,300. Check out the rest of his work at his website

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Clausen sees his porch swings as particularly appropriate for Portland: "There are a lot of great porches in this town."

-- Pat Jeffries