WHERE ARE WE NOW?

As my life as a student comes to an end I thought it would be interesting to reflect on a some aspects of thought that have featured in the development of lives of the intake of Year 2000 students at Western Australia's premier fine furniture design school. Located in the heart of Jarrah country, the Dwellingup School of Wood offers a two year fulltime Diploma of Arts with its emphasis on Furniture Design.with timber being the dominant medium. It is a course that takes you in some cases, from a very green woodworker to a seasoned furniture designer and maker. Some may think that two years is not long enough to learn everything that has been developed over the history of furniture design and construction, well they're right but if we knew everything then problem solving would not be needed and new designs would not be borne and new techniques would not as so often is the case, be stumbled upon. It is this environment that is the essence of development of the future of contemporary Australian furniture design.

As my life as a student comes rapidly to a close, I look around the workshop and am truly amazed at furniture being created by those I've known for barely two years. It only seemed like yesterday that we all sat in a spotlessly clean workshop on our first day eagerly awaiting words of wisdom from our lecturer. The air was thick with anticipation as we were all about to embark on journey to the pinnacle of furniture making. Much to everyone's disappointment we were promptly told that we were weeks away from even touching a piece of wood! Silence and some very quizzical looks filled the workshop...., "Are we in the right place?" Anyway go with the flow, with benches selected, I introduced myself to my new neighbours. On my left, a cheery fella from the Czech Republic, he'd been living in Brisbane for a year before moving west to join us. His English was poor but his determination was strong and was soon to become an inspiration for many in the class. The neighbour on my right was from Perth and came from a banking background. Woodworking had been a hobby for many years and he had decided it was time to make a career from it. Whether he still thinks the same way is another thing. After finishing the formalities, we found that we were made up of a healthy concoction of diverse backgrounds and goals. Some with no timber experience and some with plenty but as we were to find, none of us knew much at all when it came to the intricacies of fine furniture.

The first semester had a heavy emphasis on hand tools and learning the properties of timber. This involved studying timber on a scale that took us into the microscopic world of cell structure. I can still remember some of us pressing the lecturer as to the need for all this. After all were just going to head for the timber yard and ask for "five sticks of Jarrah, thanks mate". Six months, four assignments and many nights of discussion later, we all finally realised he had a point. We took this newfound knowledge into the workshop, as we had to design our first piece of furniture. Eagerly drawing boards were set up, pencils sharpened and away we went with flashing strokes of confidence borne by a sudden sense of freedom.....two hours later I remember the lecturer had bitten his tongue long enough and quietly quizzed one of us about how they were going to attach a tenon to thin air ?.... It wasn't the only unique construction technique discovered in the workshop that week. It was the openness of this class and is a credit to students and lecturers alike that developed a very unique atmosphere for design. Interaction and criticism was friendly and honest but always constructive. Whether ideas were heeded or dispensed with, it was always igniting another possibility that often cannot be realised without the exposure to another human mind. Our perceptions of design are only limited by the world to which we've been exposed and often our world is too small.

As our first year came to a close, we all watched in horror as the graduating students prepared for their exhibition, the culmination of two years of blood, sweat and tears. Tears are probably better described as a blend of hot tempers, hair loss, late nights, frustration, disbelief and finally defeat. We were definitely going to be like that, what little did we know! But as supportive fellow students, we were always willing to comfort our colleagues and lend an understanding ear by organising a night of relaxation around a pig on the spit and keg of their favourite beverage. After all, "all work and no play " can be detrimental to a young soul. These evenings were popular and were but a small part in the comradery amongst the students. The location of the School of Wood in a small timber town just south of Perth is a major factor in the success of course. The majority of students live in shared houses throughout the town and all of them within a quick "pushie" ride of each other. It tends to bring everyone together and keep them focussed on why they're here.

It was is often assumed that great designers get it right first time every time but in reality its a long slog and everyone has undoubtedly experienced 'white page fever', a moment where you can sit there staring at a blank page for hours and not have one idea come to you. It's a wonder that every designer is not bald, mind you I do know a few! It is during these moments that you often look back and try to determine where your last inspiration came from which allowed you to finally get that pencil to the paper. Every one has a different approach and there is no 'correct' method. There are those that sleep with pencil and pad next to their bed, wake up, sketch and fall back to sleep. I know once I'm asleep that's it! For me I always go back to nature, a walk through the bush seems to give me something to work with. Timber in its raw form as a tree always looks balanced and harmonious, recreate these lines and its always pleasing to the eye. You'll rarely see an ugly tree! It's these inspirations that develop a designers style, and although it may take sometime to realise that you have one, by bringing together all your pieces it soon becomes quite apparent that there is a continuity of lines or technique present in them all. This is the maker's trademark. Over the last two years we have watched and reveled in each other developing their styles and truly believe there is a future for contemporary design that is entirely Australian. (pic of chair)One year later it's now our turn to showcase two years of design. During this 2nd year we have completed six months of set projects involving the techniques of torsion box construction and the pinnacle of furniture making; chair design. A technically challenging project that produced some of the most creative chairs imaginable. Many of these pieces have been developed with a definite artistic approach and have left the traditional style far behind.

If anyone was looking for new and exciting furniture they need go no further, after all architecture is moving in this direction and there is no reason why furniture shouldn't follow.

The final six months of this course is focussed on exhibition pieces. There are no boundaries set, allowing for a heightened sense of creativity to be incorporated into the designs. By now, everyone has found who they are whether it be designers, makers and/or artists but in reality, to me it is all one and the same. Appreciation for design has already be experienced by many of the students with success in furniture competitions around the state, the most recent being the West Australian Wood show where students from the School of Wood won every category they were entered in.

It is the public though who are the true judges of the future of Australian furniture and as we are in a new millennium, it may be an opportune moment to become aware of the beauty and uniqueness of Australian timbers that have been incorporated into a new wave of contemporary Australian design. After all furniture made at the turn of the last century are now treasured antiques and are a reflection of society and influences of that era, maybe the same will be said of these pieces in a century's time.

I wish all those friends I made the best of success in the future and to continue that philosophy to design that has developed over the last year amongst us all "push it a bit further!"

The culmination of these two years of study can be experienced at the "Morphology" exhibition to be held at the QV1 building in Perth from Dec 10-21, 2001

All copyright held by author Michael Thomson ©2001