Slide Puzzle Table

I met today with my Yuri, my "tutor" for the independent study. The purpose of the study is to spend the semester researching and then building a large dining table with a top surface that works like a slide puzzle. The grain of the wood will provide the "image" of the puzzle. Fifty or sixty years ago a local craftsman donated a large collection of wood to RISD. It is called the Rare Woods Collection and every student, alumni, and faculty get one chance to propose a project and use some of the wood from the collection. I thought this project would be a good opportunity to access the collection since the idea behind the table is closely linked to the wooden top. Yuri and I spent about an hour rummaging through the wood. However, we didn't come away with any clear winners. I have so many dimensional and functional requirements that my choices are pretty slim. That part of the story is to be continued. Here is a quick little video I took of a cardboard mock-up that illustrates how the top pieces would slide along. The cardboard is cut at half-scale.

Cultural Mirror

So when I said we were only doing thesis work this year in studio is was a little bit of a fib. We have a short assignment that we are doing together with the new first-year grads. The project is entitled "Cultural Mirror" and we are supposed to look at our daily rituals (brushing your teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc.) and design a new object that "addresses how we truly live." I chose the ritual of organizing and displaying books. As my uncle once said, "You may not be able to read every book you would like, but you can certainly buy them all!" Many of us take that to heart, but I am focusing less on efficient storage and more on the idea that displaying books is a form of communicating with others. It is about the content of the books, how they are organized, and about the status of education and knowledge.




I made a working model of my original idea. The initial feedback I received was that it looked and functioned too much like a traditional bookcase and initially, I think that was actually one of my goals. I am coming around to the other side though. I think I can be more specific to the concept. Two of my favorite pieces from my original concept might be sticking around though - the frame and the hands supporting the stack of books. I have to look into my ability to get them cast before I can make any commitments...

Photo Series

Before I get started posting all of the various projects I have going on here at RISD I thought I would share a quick bit about another project I started last week. I have always enjoyed taking pictures of the things and people around me. However, and I am sure many of you out there can testify to this, it takes a lot of energy to constantly be "on" and waiting for the next photo opportunity. The family pro, Ashley Davis, suggested doing small, focused projects so I took her advice and started clicking.

All of the exterior surfaces at Haystack are unfinished pine. As these surfaces are exposed to the elements they turn from a pale tan into a dark gray. Eventually, the extreme northeastern weather has its way and the wood has to be replaced altogether. The local maintenance man only replaces the necessary pieces leaving a unique fingerprint of each year on the surfaces. Here is a sample of some of the shots:






Early last week we had a rare gray day and I happened to look out my bedroom window at the roof of the building to our north. The cheap gray shingles looked like they were painted in watercolors as they blended into the sky. I didn't have my camera with me so I couldn't record it, but it gave me the idea to do a series of the roof at different times of day and in different weather conditions. So far, there hasn't been another gray day (not that I'm complaining!) but I have enjoyed watching the shadows across the roof as the sun moves overhead.





Worrying about the shot can definitely take me out of the moment but I have also seen how it can give me so much more appreciation for the events and objects that surround me. Give it a try!

Back in the Groove

Well, school has started back up and everyone is off and running. I am taking three classes this semester for the usual total of fifteen credits. A whopping nine of those credits come from my grad studio class. This entire year in the studio is devoted to thesis work so I won't be responding to specific assignments as I have done in the past. Instead, we are encouraged to explore our own area of interest. Along with the pieces we produce we are required to write a paper that serves as a written documentation of the idea we choose to explore. I expect my thoughts will grow and change over the course of the year but I am beginning my work looking at biological systems and the current interest and issues that surround them as a jumping off point. My work in general already has a strong basis in systems and interactivity so I think the idea will serve to make my work relevant and more focused.

In addition to my studio class which meets twice a week, I am taking two electives. The first being a class that will be researching materials not typically used in the design of furniture. We are encouraged to choose a material and explore its potential through experimentation. The class is not all play and no work though. We are required to produce a flawless finished product by the end of the semester. The work of the entire class will be evaluated and selected pieces will be chosen to be a part of an exhibition at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York in the spring. I have chosen initially to work with rawhide, which is the skin of an animal that has not been exposed to tanning. We are free to change our material at any time...as long as we finish by the due date.

For my second elective I will be doing an independent study with Yuri, the instructor of the Design for Production class I took last spring. She knows a lot about woodworking and is going to help me make a dining room table with a slide puzzle top and maybe one chair to go along with it.

The table has the potential to be pretty complicated, especially with wood expanding and contracting the way it does. I want all the pieces to work perfectly so I will need lots of help to pull it off.

So, those are my classes. In other related news, I have a new roommate. She is a first-year grad in the jewelry department and things are working out perfectly. I miss Mallory and Quigley the Cat, but Yoshie is as good of a replacement as I could hope for. To avoid eating from the expensive, limited, and unhealthy food choices around campus I have a new resolve to go to the grocery store every Monday. So far, so good; but I know it is just going to get harder and harder to make the time for that. My classmates make fun of me for drinking my meals in the form of protein shakes but they are just so convenient!

down and out

Just a bit of fun.

Haystack: What is a basket?

Several of the faculty in the furniture design department at RISD are associated with a craft school off the coast of Maine called Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Last year, these faculty initiated a fellowship for students in the department to attend one of the 50 or so workshops Haystack holds each summer. I wrote a proposal to attend a class called Baskets: Exploration of the Unfamiliar and won!!!

I have had a lot of really great experiences in my life and this one is right up there with the best of them. Haystack is situated among 40 acres of coastal spruce and fir trees on an island off the coast of Maine. The campus is on the National Register of Historic Places and received the 25 Year Award from the American Institute of Architecture for buildings that endure. The experience is like living in a tree house with the ocean at your doorstep.




My workshop was taught by Pat Hickman, a fiber artist who works extensively with pig gut. Although the class had the word "basket" in its title we tried to define this word broadly both in concept and technique. There was very little in the way of "how-to" and much more in the way of "why." I was just glad to have a week to explore without worrying about the quality of my work or an impending deadline.

We made a class trip to the local dump and I picked up this child's chair frame. The photo above shows the pig gut right after it has been applied and therefore still quite wet (and smelly). It dries a translucent flesh color.

My new bag made from leather scraps roughly sewn together.

This structure is made from the offcuts of lobster traps wired together. It still needs some work.

Here are my fellow studi0-mates. There were a lot of fun personalities in the group and we blended quite well. Quite a few of them are accomplished artists in their own right and the work as a whole was really strong.




There were seven workshops held in total. One of them was a class that made things out of old tin cans. The work that came out of this class was really fun and lighthearted.



I had a really great time and met some very interesting people. I recommend Haystack to anyone looking for a relaxing, creative experience and will definitely be looking to return myself. I can't thank the faculty enough for the opportunity!