Value Container

Our first assignment for studio was to think of values by which we asses the world, be it intellectually, materially, spiritually, etc. Then we had to chart those values, provide physical descriptions of them and begin to see links between them. Finally, we had to think about what it means to contain something and by next Thursday we have to build a "container" to house one of the charted values.

The example of a value the professor gave was fun. She likes to have fun. She sees fun as some sort of bright color with maybe some textural interest, maybe interactive. This example really helped bring the project out of the clouds for me. We presented several of our values in class and gave some ideas of forms we thought they might take.

The value that immediately took form for me was "purity". Originally I thought of purity as a word to describe why I don't like processed meats so some in the group suggested I change the word to "untainted" to get rid of its moral implications. But the moral implications I think are appropriate. Plus, untainted as a word seems too tainted. I had seen an image of a wall of drinking straws that embodied purity in my mind. I played around with different ways to fasten them together - glue and string - and different ways to stack them. Here are some images of the project as it has developed. The straws have been rescaled and are now embodied by hollow glass tubing. I even built a loom in an attempt to weave the tubing together. The loom worked great, but the tubing was just too thick.

My classes

I am taking 15 credits this semester and so far I feel like I could have taken on a little more. Two of my classes have not had a very large workload to date, but every day I expect the next to be busier.

My main class which accounts fro 9 of the 15 credits is my furniture design studio. Both the first-year and second-year grads meet together every Tuesday and Thursday to present ideas, talk about design, go on field trips, etc. Our assignments differ from the seond-year grads but it is nice to get a taste of what I will be doing next year. To graduate from the program everyone must write a thesis and build a corresponding body of work and the second-years are just starting on that process. For the first years, it is more a time of exploration and I think we are all taking that to heart.

My welding class meets right after my studio on Thursday evenings. So far, the class has been a bit unorganized but I am hoping that will improve as we all settle into a schedule of sorts. The main problem appears to be that there are only four welding stations and about 18 people in the class. I am excited to be able to work with a new material though. By the end of the semester we are all required to build a comfortable, steel chair. I don't really have any ideas yet on what I am going to build. I am waiting I think until I learn a little more about the process. Below is a picture of our first assignment - a 4" steel cube. It is just "pinned" together - although not very well. We will learn how to actually weld it together tonight.




My graduate seminar is entitled Art and Design: Interdisciplinary Collaboration. This is the first time this class is being taught and so far it is a lot of fun. The instructors are two young guys who live and work in New York but teach at RISD in the painting and textiles department as well. They are really excited about the class so it creates a really good vibe. RISD has so many amazing disciplines but due to the technical nature of many of them and also safety issues involved with many of the machines it is hard to work with people outside of your department. This class is trying to provide a forum for that. Every other week we meet in NYC to visit practicioners in the fields of art and design. On the weeks we stay in Providence we will discuss assigned readings and talk about our projects. The readings have mostly been focused on the differences and similarities between art and design and trying to reach a definition for each. We also have a corresponding assigment that deals with the collaboration aspect of the class. We have been put into groups of four and we are required to do or build something - anything - it just has to exist in the real world in some tangible way. My group is made up of a textile designer. sculptor, and a printmaker.

Welcome to Rhode Island, The Ocean State

Well, here it is...the long awaited first entry. I have indeed, after many requests, decided to keep a blog documenting my time at RISD (pronounced riz-d and short for Rhode Island School of Design). For those of you unfamiliar with the institution here are some details.

The school was founded in 1877 “for the purpose of aiding in the cultivation of the arts of design." The 2500 students can choose from 16 majors ranging from painting to textile design to sculpture. Only a sidewalk separates the RISD campus from Brown University and students from each are free to take classes at either institution. It is a small, encouraging community with great ties to the global art scene. So far nothing but good things to say about the school and the students.

For the fall semester I am taking three classes: the first-year grad furniture design studio, a welding class with an emphasis on furniture design, and a seminar class entitled Art and Design: Interdisciplinary Collaboration. I don't have class on Mondays or Wednesdays but don't imagine that those days are not busy. If the last two weeks are any indication, I will pretty much just spend them in the studio working on an impossible number of projects. There are six other students in the first-year program - three guys and three girls - and all come from a variety of backgrounds. We have a nice woodshop that we share with the undergraduates but we each get a small cubicle-like space to store our junk. Most of the guys come in with professional Crafstman tool chests full of gadgets so I have done my best to clutter my space to make it look like I am just as armed.

My sister, Mallory, and I are sharing a small two-bedroom on the Eastside with her cat Quigley. Both the local trolley and the RISD/Brown safe ride bus pick up and drop off right in front of our door. Unfortunately, they don't run very often so I plan on riding my bike for the most part. I have an ongoing challenge with myself to carry impossible loads in my bike rack - I am sure this year will present some interesting trips.

For all of you who have dreamed of attending art school, who love building things with your hands, hopefully this blog will inspire you. For all of you who get stressed out thinking about sleepless nights spent furiously working, I'll do my best to make it all look effortless!