Material Exploration: The Class

Crocheted aluminum wire chair

Loofa shoe

Boiled leather stool

Eco-resin chair

Feather and porcelain bowl

Expanded polystyrene chair

Plastic drip cup and saucer

Wax table

Bubble wrap and silicone pillows

"Of the Skin"

So that is the official title for my now completed rawhide project. I had enough hide for two pieces so I decided to completely finish one project before starting on the next. The idea being that I would work all the kinks out on the first round and would be able to make any necessary changes for round two.


I coated both the inside and outside of the hide in amber shellac for an all-natural glow. Above is the before and after with round-two still awaiting its coating. My crit went well, the verdict being that it is both beautiful and a little creepy. I have really enjoyed working with the material and have a few more ideas that I would like to test out.

{Process Shot}

And back again.

Ideas really do move in circles.

For my first thesis project, initially, I had wanted to make a hollow sphere form that would crack and shift along certain designated points. After consultation, I decided the idea would take too long to develop and so I began to concentrate on using foam on the inside for structure. Very quickly the idea became very complicated. Foam, upholstery, leather, bungee cord...and the list goes on. While trying to ignore the difficulties I stumbled upon something even better.


I took the leather pieces from the model I had previously made and began experimenting with ways of attaching them together. When connected only at the points, the pieces had room to shift and bend creating really interesting shapes. So I have left the foam and the complication behind and am moving towards the interesting. I am not sure how the final product will "work" but I know I will have a lot more fun making it. As I mentioned in my last post, this project has provided a nice basis for starting to think about color. I have some different leather dyes arriving tomorrow and the leather cord comes in tons of colors.

Going Full-Scale

I just realized how long it has been since I have posted on the development of the rawhide project. After many quarter-scale models I settled on a design a couple of weeks ago and went ahead and ordered my final hide. My models were made of deer skin but for the final version I purchased a buffalo skin to increase the strength.

The hide shipped from Washington state and and arrived last Friday. It took four or so days to completely soak the huge skin as I had to wait for each part to get soft for the next part to sink down into the water.

Once it was good and soaked I could cut out the shape and drape it over a form. A fellow classmate helped throughout the process with an extra set of hands and after we were done we wished we had taken more process shots. In the moment we were just focused on getting it right.



The beauty of the rawhide is that I can always re-wet portions of the hide and make changes to the form. Once I get that settled I will add a delicate ring of color around the base. Here are some color samples:

The Thesis Begins

All second years are now working solely on pieces which will be included in our thesis exhibition in the spring. There are no hard and fast rules on how many pieces we have to make and we are free to include any relevant work from the first year of study. As a way of planning out my time and ideas, I mapped out the exhibition space, putting work I know I want to include into position and then attempting to fill the holes. For my thesis research, I am looking at systems that are activated and influenced by physical human interaction, along with ideas of absence and presence, and thinking about low-tech solutions.

For my first hole-filler, I am making a big, ball chair. The idea began with thinking about the earth's systems and how they are often in conflict with man-made systems. The form of the chair references the shape of the earth and an internal network of strings allows the user to mold the form to their wishes.

I have gone through numerous design and material solutions and after a small panic attack yesterday evening am finally more settled on a course of action. The interior of the ball will be made of two different densities of upholstery foam to help control the flex of the shape. This foam shape will be covered in fabric with the base and back of the ball receiving an extra structure of boiled leather for stability and aesthetics.



The leather pieces will be laid out to reference the cracked mud common in areas of severe drought. I am still working on the proportions of all the elements and this cardboard and tape study was an exercise is line reduction. I don't typically use a lot of color in my work but am looking forward to finding ways to communicate the use of the object through various points of color in the composition.

The Wait is Over

Well, it has been almost a year since I started this project and tonight marks its debut.

For those who need a bit of a refresher, it all began when I started weaving the vinyl tubing into the loom. From there I just made each decision as they presented themselves - no big plan or end goal. Towards the end of the project a friend of mine was in the process of submitting a proposal for a gallery show at the new student gallery in the RISD museum (wow, that is a lot of prepositional phrases in one sentence) and he thought this piece would work with the theme (see below).

The proposal was accepted and the show officially opened this evening. This was my first gallery show and it was an honor to be included. There were quite a few interesting pieces alongside my own.


One artist commissioned three Chinese oil-painting companies to paint the same piece for him and the resulting work was hung together along with their respective prices. Another created a structure of pine 2x4s and drywall and then physically hurled his body through the drywall like a human cannonball. Anything in the name of art, right!

Happy Halloween!

Thought I would share some of the beautiful fall days we have been having! I took this photo and video on the way home today. I love watching the power lines weave in and out.

















The doorbell is already ringing with Trick or Treaters! Graham and I don't dress up but we like to sit on the front porch and give candy to the kids. This year some friends are coming over to join us. Hope everyone has a great evening.

Wenge Boards

In my last post on the slide puzzle table I mentioned wanting to use some wood from the Rare Woods collection here at RISD. After spending some time on my hands and knees looking at the hundreds of boards in the collection, I decided that they didn't really have what I was looking for. I am hoping another opportunity will present itself but in the meantime I went ahead and purchased wood elsewhere. Specifically, I was looking for a wood with a strong grain pattern but not so strong as to be totally dominating.

I collaged this sample with Photoshop using an image of some Tigerwood boards. The grain is distinct but the strong contrast in colors was just a little too much. Throughout the whole research process, Graham was a big fan of Wenge (a wood native to Africa) and after seeing some samples of the actual wood I was sold. I found a company in Pennsylvania that was selling boards from a "flitch" (an entire tree cut into boards and then labeled in sequence) and bought #23 and #24. I needed boards that were exceptionally long and wide, otherwise I could have purchased the boards locally. These particular boards are 13 feet long and 23" wide each.

The entire studio has been quite impressed with the boards in their raw state. They really are good looking - hopefully I can maintain that beauty as they transition into furniture.

Cultural Mirror Presentations

Here are some of the other projects:

Ruth designed a screen or room divider inspired by plant forms.

Hye Jung designed small seating pods that could be hung up like a coat when not in use.

Deb tried to build a chair for her fire escape that referenced the clothes people often hang out to dry. Her fire escape fought back and won but it was a great concept.

Eli's work is very much about process and materiality. Although this piece started out as a place to throw his half-dirty/half-clean clothes he is more interested in having the user give it function as they wish.

Philip designed a small adjustable-height stool with a spring pivot at the base. It was an amazing amount of work and he pulled it off.

Chloris built three L-shaped platforms for sitting and working. He is looking at ideas of necessity, purpose, and luxury for his thesis.

Antonio carved these two identical handles out of walnut. This photo really doesn't do them justice.

Pete built a small bookshelf based on the idiom "the elephant in the room" that held marginalized written works.

Liz made this acrylic table that was impossible to photograph. Even in person the lines blurred in and out of focus.

The Self-Portrait

We had our final presentations today for the project entitled Cultural Mirror. I am still processing all the comments but I wanted to go ahead and show you all the final product.

A lot of people really liked the project but there was a vocal minority who thought the frames and the hands were not cohesive both in terms of concept and form. By their nature, the frames are protecting and displaying while the hands seemed to be offering the books up to the user. Some people also thought the placement was too literal. Although on this point I definitely disagree - the placement has to be literal or the idea is lost.

As an added bonus, the hands do more than just hold stacks of books!


During the review I snapped some quick pics of Mariel and Hye Jung sitting right in front of my project. I though it was fun how similar they looked.