CCA News

The exhibition featured works by the following program graduates, some of whom have already attracted industry attention for their innovative pieces: Bobby Brinton, Layla Burke, Liz Koerner, Willem Evett-Miller, Lauren Scott, and Jeff Weathers.

Bobby Brinton specializes in handcrafted wood surfboards that are both display pieces and completely functional surfboards. He works predominantly with salvaged redwood. “Gathering material that would otherwise be on its way to the dump or decomposing is very uplifting,” he reveals. Each board is designed using a unique method of construction, rendering it a work of art that is imbued with a sense of California history.

Layla Burke’s pieces reflect her background in fine art and textile design. Her designs are inspired by nature, childhood, geometric patterns, Egypt, outer space, Navajo blankets, and the powers of meditation, as well as the interactive relationships among surface, space, and form. Layla’s most recent works include swings that embody sacred geometry. She explains, “Everyone should have at least one object or piece of furniture that embodies relaxation and creativity—a timeless piece that can act as a touchstone, a cradle, or an altar.”

Liz Koerner's works suggest a personal connection to material, movement, and transformation. “Through abstracted, natural forms I intend to trigger a sense of possibility and a regard for the nuances of deep reconfiguration and metamorphosis.” Liz also explores how geological processes such as sedimentation, tectonic shifting, and lava flow relate to design. Recent works include wall-mounted cabinets that play on their ability to slide and stack, and she is exploring with the optical effects of glass, aluminum, and neon.

Willem Evett-Miller's site-specific installations are dynamic yet minimal, merging the poetics of furniture and architecture. He uses the chair form as a device to connect furniture, architecture, and the body to take advantage of the chair’s symbolic and metaphorical significance. Willem’s recent pieces tap the provocative and historically significant folly, or whimsical garden building, and symbolize fantasy, madness, and the nonfunctional.

Lauren Scott works with reclaimed materials that she mostly retrieves from San Francisco Recycling & Disposal, Inc., adapting them in her design and sculpture. She supports architect Garth Rockcastle’s observation: “Making new is not intrinsically more challenging than remaking, amending, or renewing.” Using form and the human body as underlying concepts, Lauren combines scale and simplicity to achieve a sense of movement.

Jeff Weathers is a self-trained cabinetmaker who had more than 20 years’ experience in the trade prior to earning his bachelor of fine arts in Furniture at CCA. Driven by process, Jeff tends to push the technical aspect in all of his work. “I enjoy the challenge of stressing the smallest detail,” he admits. Those who have an appreciation for design-inspired engineering will have a particular appreciation for Jeff’s works.

About CCA's Furniture Program
CCA’s Furniture Program focuses on studio furniture, combining the disciplines of furniture design, industrial design, sculpture, architecture, and fashion. The program emphasizes practical skills (woodworking, metalworking, upholstery, and industrial fabrication), drawing and computer-based design, and a theoretical investigation of furniture as both object and cultural agent.

More information can be found at www.cca.edu/academics/furniture.

Contact:
Donald Fortescue, Professor and Chair
Furniture Department
California College of the Arts
dfortescue@cca.edu