Making Welcome
Space, Material, and Human Centered-Design, 2019
2018 UConn Undergraduate Research IDEA Grant recipient
Ash, Walnut, Specked Stoneware, Colored Porcelain, Denim.
Received funding for a student-designed solo exhibition. In Making Welcome, I created furniture and a set of ceramic tableware to encourage viewers to look beyond the functionality of every-day objects, and see them for their formal beauty. This process was not only a study of what invites people into a space but a practice of making the objects themselves.
“…there is no greater opportunity for appreciating beauty than through its use in our daily lives…”
– The Beauty of Everyday Things, by Soetsu Yanagi
Two Hands
The blue porcelain teapot I made has no handle. It must poured using both hands, a gesture of offering. When full of hot tea, the teapot is swaddled in a linen towel to protect the hands.
The chair I built was inspired by German architect and functionalist designer Ferdinand Kramer’s 1925 Karnak Chair.
Understanding the history of furniture forms, everyday objects, and handicrafts was an integral part of my creative process.
Natural Materials
I focused on maintaining the warmth of the natural materials I was working with. I selected pieces of ash with knots and cathedrals running through the grain, left the outside of my colored porcelain cups and bowls unglazed, and sewed cushions made of soft and durable denim.
The Power of a Set Table
Displaying these pieces in a gallery space allowed visitors to approach these common forms with new curiosity. Many conversations between strangers happened. Many meals with mentors and friends were shared at the table. Afternoon tea was an everyday ritual for the week the show was up, anyone who passed by the gallery was welcome to join.
Making Welcome Favorites Reading List:
The Beauty of Everyday Things, by Soetsu Yanagi
Design of the 20th Century, by Charlotte Fiell and Peter Fiell
The Danish Chair: an International Affair, by Christian Holmsted Olesen and Peniila Anastasia Laviolette
Beyond The New Manifesto by Hella Jongerius and Louise Schouwenberg
Curriculum Man and Well Being, Design Academy Eindhoven, by Ilse Crawford
Perhaps the World Ends Here, Poem by Joy Harjo