Material Innovations

The medium that I feel most invigorated by working with is space, and the relationship that is formed within space between people and objects. My task as a maker is to create living spaces—places that create context for dwellers, act as a reflection of the natural world, and meet the inherent needs of the soul and the body. This exploration of space/place is cross-disciplinary, as it draws on aesthetic, material, philosophical, sociological, and theoretical concerns. I have arrived here by way of the 2-D art world, a growing interest in the realm of 3-D building and woodworking, and finally, a recognition of my love for being the hand behind shaping and arranging experiences/environments for other people.   I am moved by the idea that one can choose, over and over again, how to shape oneself, and I believe that the creation of place can be a radically transformative part of this reality.

I love discovering how the crafting of space can be used in order to evoke and provoke particular feelings or modes of being, and finding that people generally respond to various environments in the same way.  It is fascinating to me that we are inherently drawn to certain kinds of spaces more than others. What I am coming to recognize as the frustrating part of working with such an elusive medium is that it is terribly difficult to express in a succinct manner.

My life has been rich with the influence, love, and support of sincere makers of all manner (primarily in my family), including educators, writers, musicians, cooks, bakers, seamstresses, gardeners, craftsmen/women, artists, and designers. Of course some of these fields produce and require more handiness than others, but I have always been acutely aware of the distinct relationship between the creative mind and the work of the hand, and have been consistently encouraged to discover how this relationship will manifest itself in my own life. I have grown up within a framework of homemade, handmade, can-do simplicity, where nothing is ever wasted or taken for granted. Thus, my roots are literally entrenched in living responsibly and sustainably, although these fashionable “it” words are practically devoid in my extended family’s vocabulary. My grandfather has spent the past 75+ years of his life making his own tools, mixing spoons, furniture, maple syrup, etc. not because it is the green thing to do, but because he finds joy in being resourceful, using his hands, and being a steward of the materials he finds before him.

The geographic and cultural place I am coming from has been paramount in shaping my fundamental interests and concerns. I have spent the majority of my life in Santa Barbara, California, which is a place particularly obsessed with beauty; it is image-conscious in every sense. Each factor of this place exudes perhaps an over-developed attention to the need for beauty at every turn. This has translated into a desire within me for deep and careful consideration of every aesthetic choice in my life. In terms of my making, I crave natural, pared-down materials and processes because this reflects so much of what I have encountered and been conditioned to appreciate thus far in my life. The environmental and cultural context I am working from revolves around a sustained commitment to good stewardship of resources, deep regard and appreciation for the natural world and for persons/people, rigorous devotion to the continual shaping of one’s character and one’s mind, and a fierce desire for connectivity and relationship beyond pretense. These values translate into the pressing awareness that whatever I create, and therefore, introduce into the world, must represent and uphold these ideals, no matter what. I cannot be a maker with the motivation of merely selling a product, making a buck, or creating something cool and innovative for the sake of originality; rather, I must support a way of life which will continue to “keep [the] body and soul alive” (Thackara, emphasis mine). And more importantly, I want to live in a way that not only sustains my body and soul, but also those bodies and souls for whom I am potentially designing, as well. In my own work, this means approaching each opportunity with candor and clarity about what I care about, and why I create the way that I do.

The world at large is in a state of distrust—and this distrust has engendered greed, dishonesty, confused communication, fierce individualism, lack of connectivity, and surprisingly little regard for what is beyond the scope of one’s own desires. Consumption consumes us.  Modern culture seems to leave scant room for modes of living that do not move within the ebb and flow of a hurried, harried existence. However, this does not mean I am without hope—I see a shift happening, at least within the small culture I am a part of, towards more thoughtful, careful living, where one is no longer thinking primarily about their own consumer needs and purchasing power. I am, of course, an active participant in the messy state of affairs as they exist today, but my role within this framework is to make the simple daily choices that support and better my own localized sphere of influence.

The maker’s role in the world is to commit oneself to the powerful act of authentic creation, and in doing so, to also arouse and awaken a spirit of truth within others. As someone who constantly feels the need to create, I fear making insignificant work, particularly because I feel that the world is already crowded with meaningless and insignificant things. Though I do feel that I make out of obedience to my inherent need to be a creative being, there is often the underlying anxiety that what matters to me may not matter to anyone else—and this feels somewhat empty to me. My hope as a maker is that I will continue to be obedient to this necessity for continual creation, and that I will overcome my fear of failure through deep faith and trust in my own process.  One major aspiration is to work for either an artist or a design firm that deals with the arrangement of space in a way that excites and encourages me, and that has an ethos that I feel I can support wholeheartedly.

I consider myself to be a creator of joyful objects. My aesthetic is always colorful, playful, and full of detail. My work focuses on joyful aspects of life- activities we engage in for leisure, interests we study out of fascination, special occasions, simple pleasures, and utopian ideals as well. I refuse to select only one medium to actualize my ideas. This has always been a frustration, as most schools push you to choose one path. Some visions are clearly a 2-D collage, others are functional objects; some would be best made of clay, others of fiber, and some owe their existence to found objects (I must admit, I am a bit of a scavenger). That being said, my favorite materials of the moment are fibers.

Previously I have worked extensively with ceramics, but I needed to take a break from the clay determining my schedule. Clay needs to be tended to in many ways to regulate moisture and dryness so that it does not crack or get too dry to work with, yet it has to be at a certain state of firmness to be manipulated. I do still love the material for the sculptural possibilities, and the fact that functional objects can be made with it as well. I find that fibers too offer these possibilities, but in different ways. I have been creating wool felt for a variety of projects lately. I love that the process starts with the raw material of wool fibers (Yay for sheep!), and that it has a rich history of use. Without any industrial equipment, people have been self- sufficient at creating textiles in this fashion. In addition to this already green material, I hope to focus on a cleaner process by learning about natural dyes, rather than synthetic ones.

Besides felting, I have begun learning more about weaving. I am currently practicing a variety of techniques for weaving on an eight shaft Cranbrook countermarche loom. Perhaps this love of fiber arts has its roots in my upbringing in rural Minnesota, where my Finnish family had great appreciation of woven textiles and Scandinavian designs. My mom would weave rugs, knit, and sew a lot. My grandmother would always critique textile quality in clothing and home items. As for living in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fields and forest, I think it has influenced some of my work. I often reference my appreciation for nature and wildlife. Besides these influences, I have noticed a rise in the popularity of felt work in contemporary design, which I think gives a rich, comfortable feel to what might otherwise be rather stark designs. These days I am focusing on the design of functional objects, while adding some more craft skills to my process. I always strive to have a conceptual element in my work to give it more narrative. This may have been the biggest thing I took away from my studio art undergraduate education at University of Minnesota Duluth.

I am interested in social and cultural issues, particularly the use of and need for leisure time. I try to comment on this with my work. I emphasize activities and interests that are not about consumption. Rather they are simple pleasures in life, for which primarily time, not money, is required. I am planning a sort of interactive piece that will involve an audience with this issue.
Perhaps it is because of this mindset that I am able to tell myself that things will be okay in this world. The current state of economic affairs is reminding me, at least in my current economic bracket, that the abundance we have been used to is not necessarily possible anymore, both financially, and environmentally. As far as being a maker, material constraints will become inevitable, but may be helpful for indecisive types, yours truly included. I do worry about how my handmade products will fare against mass-produced cheaper goods, but am hoping the current resurgence in craft will change public outlook on the value of local handmade goods.

Some of my work:

Creating art has always been an integral part of my life, from the time I was four years old, when I began taking art classes at the Children’s Museum.  Professionally, I worked at the Portland Art Museum as an assistant curator before having children.   For many years, I volunteered my time and talents as a volunteer in the community, serving primarily as an arts administrator.  I am now focused on becoming a full time artist and the name of my creative practice is Bamboo Art.

Embracing the beauty and elegance of bamboo, I design and create architectural features, sculpture and useful objects to enhance interior and exterior spaces.  I aspire to create works of art which lead to a greater understanding of the natural world and ultimately encourage people to live in harmony with the environment locally and globally.  I want to help create awareness as to the unlimited potential bamboo has to create a better built environment; to educate about the role bamboo can play in sustainable practices; and how as a plant and a resource, it can improve lives across the globe.  I have a cradle to cradle creative practice.

 Twenty years ago, I discovered bamboo, which has become my primary medium.   I had a visceral experience when I walked into a freshly cut, monumental bamboo installation/sculpture by Hiroshi Teshigahara at the Sogetsu School in Tokyo.   Since then, I have been captivated by bamboo, whether growing in groves, freshly cut, dried, or made into objects.   I am attracted to its formal/physical characteristics:  linear, vertical direction, monochromatic (in most varieties), and smooth surface between nodes; to its natural beauty/experiential qualities:  elegant, simple, graceful, and minimal; and to its practical attributes:  fast –growing, rapidly renewable, strong, resilient, and flexible.   I love working with bamboo and its extraordinary attributes.   I have not been frustrated by it thus far. 

I was born and have lived in Portland for most of my life, with the exception of years spent in California, in Claremont and Berkeley, for college and graduate school.  I have always had a strong connection with nature spending some of my free time walking, hiking, skiing, camping, river rafting, and mountain climbing. For ten years, I studied Ikebana (Japanese Flower Arranging) from which I learned restraint and discipline while working with branches, leaves and flowers.   I feel a connection to bamboo as one of nature’s gift and as a medium for personal artistic expression.

The planet and the economy are in precarious states.  The following are some examples of why I feel this way:   the debt of the United States government is mind-boggling ($240,000. per person as of August 2010);   unemployment continues to increase; the immediate future of the  U.S. economy seems uncertain;  the population continues to expand internationally; the potential extinction of plants and animals grows;  climate change is happening with examples of such things as record high temperatures in the U. S. this year; potable water is an issue.   Societies and cultures on the planet are interdependent and the ultimate challenge is to search and find shared values and purpose in order to achieve a sustainable world for all.   

As a design activist, I have the opportunity to shape the world by using bamboo as a medium.  The beauty of bamboo and its intrinsic qualities have a universal attraction.  Working with bamboo will potentially encourage others to see the possibilities of using it as a building material and as a medium for making art.  Experiencing bamboo in a multitude of ways will raise the consciousness of human beings as to the role bamboo can play in eco-environmental awareness across the globe.   

Cross-culturally and throughout time, bamboo has come to symbolize strength, vigor, virtue, flexibility, tenacity, chivalry, devotion, longevity, and compromise.  As human beings, there is much to emulate in the power and spirit of bamboo.  Bamboo has been in existence for twenty-five thirty to forty million years.  For thousands of years, it has been and is one of the single most important plants to the largest number of people in the world, primarily in Asia and South America.   

Bamboo has been underappreciated in the United States.  I look forward to being a hunter and gatherer of past successes of how bamboo has been used; how it can be grown and harvested; and how it can be used innovatively today.  How all of this information is exchanged and distributed will potentially help shape the United States and the world.  Bamboo has the potential to become a substitute for wood and plastic, and, ultimately, become the material of the 21^st century.

Week 1 – INTRO: STATE OF THE PLANET, STUFF COMES FROM SOMEWHERE, PEER PRODUCTION NETWORKS

1. We Are All Emerging Economies Now by John Thackara in the Design Observer. John Thackara runs the Doors of Perception Blog and Conference (Doors 9: Juice was the most recent in India) and is a generally all-around interesting and serious design observer/commentator.

2. Chapter 1.: Scoping the Territory: Design, Activism & Sustainability from Design Activism – Beautiful Strangeness for a Sustainable World by Alastair Fuad- Luke who seems to be everywhere in the sustainable / resilient design discourse. I don’t know anything about these organizations but appearantly he is involved with SlowLab and SLOW

3. Modern Indian Design: the Roots from Thinking Design by S. Balaram a Prof. at India’s National Institute for Design (NID). A well-worn copy of this book was generously given to me by Poonam Bir Kasturi of Daily Dump and much more. It is now out of print but can be found sans images here (.pdf).