Spring Semester

Spring semester has been in session a few weeks now but I can't say all that much has happened yet. I am taking three classes - my general furniture studio that I have every semester, a class based in the woodshop entitled Design for Production, and a graduate seminar class focused on readings and writing related to our thesis ideas. Additionally, I am the teaching assistant for a 3D modeling class based on the computer. I don't actually know the software program though so I am trying to do the work along with everyone else. I have a whole set of new instructors but no new classmates.

My studio work this semester is focused on chairs and we are busy making models that will lead toward one final, full-scale chair by the end of May. I am not sure how I feel about the process they are putting us through - maybe in hindsight I will understand. We had a guest lecturer on Thursday, Josh Owen, an alumni of the program who has since gone on to concentrate his work in the field of industrial design. He has won a bunch of awards and has quite a different outlook on design than many in the department. I appreciated his emphasis on making work with a clear purpose and judging the quality based on intention.

I have high hopes for Design for Production and hopefully it will deliver. So far, we have concentrated on batch production as it would be used for an independent designer. The idea is that the product is designed for ease in making more than one and less than en mass. I had hoped to gain some understanding of how the system worked outside of my own capabilities - maybe project number two will bring in some of those factors.

During my second and final year I have to produce a cohesive body of work and a supplemental text which together make up a thesis requirement. To make sure we are ready to go in the fall the first-year grads have a seminar class devoted to reading and writing about topics related to the field and about our interests in particular. So far, we have had to read and write in about equal measure. The class is challenging as we have to sort out all sorts of complicated issues in terms of our own work and larger issues in the field of art and design. So far I feel a bit lost but am looking forward to some self-discovery and direction in my work.