<p>Hi, I'm applying to several Master of Fine Arts programs in furniture design. These are two essays (they are mostly the same, but just for different schools (my top 2 schools at that)). </p>
<p>Please read and give advice. Any help is appreciated</p>
<p>Man it's been a long time since I posted an essay on here!!</p>
<pre><code> Statement of Purpose
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<p>In my work, I focus on shape, space, form, and malleability. I consider the aesthetic aspect of a piece as well as its utility and interactivity, and describe my work as sculpture that can be used as furniture. My goal is to make furniture that pushes limits – artistically, functionally, and conceptually to create, something that resonates as a piece of art as much as a piece of furniture. </p>
<pre><code>Furniture design has rules; parameters in which to work: standards for functionality; principles about the ways in which wood can be joined; definitions of a table or chair. And it is within this framework, enclosed by these parameters, that I feel most creative. Every piece I design becomes a creative challenge to explore.
I primarily work in wood, but I also have passion for other mediums. I started my artistic career in ceramics, and later studied glass blowing and glass sculpture. Each material has its own unique process. When different materials are utilized together each one’s distinct signature combines to make a piece greater than the sum of its parts.
I study the angles and geometry of shapes, and the negative and positive space that they create. I experiment with line, form, and proportions. I take simple design concepts and develop them into dynamic ideas that can be realized in real life and real time. It is a process of challenging rules and stretching limits; recognizing a tangible, functional need and finding the most interesting way to get there. It is a puzzle. Maybe I can solve it
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<p>I have been out of every day academic life for almost three years now, during which time I have continued to study and advance my artistic work. I built and operated my own furniture design studio and gallery, creating custom work, original pieces, and featuring other artists in gallery showings. I also worked at an expansive high-design furniture store, and learned a great deal about the functioning of the commercial furniture industry. But graduate school has always been my goal. I want to push my work further. </p>
<pre><code>“Push it further” is a line I borrow from a great professor of mine. Every time I approached him with a design, he would reply, “That’s great. Now push it further.” And after study, examination, and experimentation, after firing down every axon in my brain, I was able to develop an idea that was exceptional. It would be an idea that I never would have found if I had been satisfied with my initial good ideas; if I had not pushed them further.
It is in this spirit that I am applying for a Master of Fine Arts in Furniture Design. There is so much more to learn. I want to develop my creativity and take my skills to a new level; to explore new mediums and methods of creative thought in the realms of art and design. I am seeking the kind of immersion in creative academia that graduate school can offer, with professors and students with drive and energy, learning from one another and achieving new artistic heights together.
I also want to gain an enhanced perspective on what furniture is as an art form, something that I feel can be uniquely achieved at the Rhode Island School of Design. During my undergraduate career at Brown University, I met with Professor Rosanne Somerson about the Rhode Island School of Design’s Furniture Design Program. She said that they take a broad approach to the definition of furniture design, that “We consider furniture anything that can be part of the human experience.”
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<p>I found this remarkably compelling. And it stuck with me. The Rhode Island School of Design’s open and progressive interpretation of furniture design opens the door to the incredible breadth of creative thought that I am seeking in a graduate school education. </p>
<pre><code> I am also seeking a Master of Fine Arts to pursue my ultimate goal of being a professor. I love to teach. I have been teaching classes in art and in science since I was a teenager. Teach is not only to sharing knowledge, it is to renewing your own knowledge and reexamining your own methods, thoughts, and abilities. My heart is in academia, in seeing knowledge grow. For me, being a professor would be an ideal way to share my energy for art with others and continue to foster it in myself. And in order to do that, I need to have the best skills and the most well honed creative mind. I want to earn a Master’s Degree. I want to push myself further.
Statement of Purpose
In my work, I focus on shape, space, form, and malleability. I consider the aesthetic aspect of a piece as well as its utility and interactivity, and describe my work as sculpture that can be used as furniture. My goal is to make furniture that pushes limits – artistically, functionally, and conceptually to create, something that resonates as a piece of art as much as a piece of furniture.
Furniture design has rules; parameters in which to work: standards for functionality; principles about the ways in which wood can be joined; definitions of a table or chair. And it is within this framework, enclosed by these parameters, that I feel most creative. Every piece I design becomes a creative challenge to explore.
I primarily work in wood, but I also have passion for other mediums. I started my artistic career in ceramics, and later studied glass blowing and glass sculpture. Each material has its own unique process. When different materials are utilized together each one’s distinct signature combines to make a piece greater than the sum of its parts.
I study the angles and geometry of shapes, and the negative and positive space that they create. I experiment with line, form, and proportions. I take simple design concepts and develop them into dynamic ideas that can be realized in real life and real time. It is a process of challenging rules and stretching limits; recognizing a tangible, functional need and finding the most interesting way to get there. It is a puzzle. Maybe I can solve it
I have been out of every day academic life for almost three years now, during which time I have continued to study and advance my artistic work. I built and operated my own furniture design studio and gallery, creating custom work, original pieces, and featuring other artists in gallery showings. I also worked at an expansive high-design furniture store, and learned a great deal about the functioning of the commercial furniture industry. But graduate school has always been my goal. I want to push my work further.
“Push it further” is a line I borrow from a great professor of mine. Every time I approached him with a design, he would reply, “That’s great. Now push it further.” And after study, examination, and experimentation, after firing down every axon in my brain, I was able to develop an idea that was exceptional. It would be an idea that I never would have found if I had been satisfied with my initial good ideas; if I had not pushed them further.
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<p>It is in this spirit that I am applying for a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a focus in Furniture Design at the California College of the Arts. There is so much more to learn. I want to develop my creativity and take my skills to a new level. I am seeking the kind of immersion in creative academia that the California College of Arts can offer, with professors and students with drive and energy, learning from one another and achieving new artistic heights together. I also want to explore new mediums and methods of creative thought; something I can do with the California College of Arts’ unique interdisciplinary degree that allows students the intellectual and artistic freedom to stretch across so many areas of art. </p>
<pre><code> I am also seeking a Master of Fine Arts to pursue my ultimate goal of being a professor. I love to teach. I have been teaching classes in art and in science since I was a teenager. Teaching is not only to sharing knowledge, it is renewing your own knowledge and reexamining your methods, thoughts, and abilities. My heart is in academia, in seeing knowledge grow. For me, being a professor would be an ideal way to share my energy for art and as well as continuing to foster it in myself. And in order to do that, I need to have the best skill set and abilities possible. I want to earn a Master’s Degree. I want to push myself further.
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