Project II. An ode to history

 The public reception of the College of the Redwoods Winter Exhibition was densely and consistently packed all evening on Friday. Alumni, family and what felt like the entire Mendocino Coast community  flooded the room till closing time. As a partner of a student through this grueling intensive experience, I was overcome with pride to see Darrick rewarded for his accomplishment. He has remained humble since the beginning, but certainly received an incredible amount of compliments from informed strangers- the genuine-firm handshake-eye contact kind of compliments from people who really know what the heck they are talking about. 

As the show is behind him, Darrick's second semester possibilities are continuing to evolve. We [I say WE given that we  discuss his project ideas together extensively and continuously]had originally talked about a chair design of his own, which he even began to mock up and study. I received an afternoon phone call last week. In a 'I've just had a eureka moment and NEED to share it with you' tone, he tells me that he has decided to change the idea completely and do something wise and brave. He will build a chair that has already been designed by the son of the late great Swede Carl Malmsten, Vidar Malmsten. Now many students at CR choose to do this, as the plans are made available by the school and encouraged by the faculty. One can focus on the fundamentals of an already brain-squishing feat that is chairmaking and pay homage to this incredible tradition established by the school's founder and Carl Malmsten's student, James Krenov.    

 The phone call I received yesterday was to come in and help him decide if and how he might change the curves of the back, as he had one in the shop made by another former faculty member Todd Sorenson. I had originally critiqued the blunted S curve of the back in the photo I had seen, but now he was contending with the potentially blasphemous action of changing a master's design. So we both gave her a good sit and let the spine decide. That curve is no mistake...

Gallery Image of Sorenson's version.