What is your background and what brought you to furniture design and ultimately going back to school?

I was a business development professional for over a decade. And although I enjoyed this work, sales and marketing had its creative limits. Only after business hours would I find time to contemplate and produce my own work, and even that was negotiated with my children’s extracurricular activities, play, and bedtime routines. A few years ago my son and I began to paper mache. After so many objects we were motivated to make our process and materials compostable for easy disposal and a clear conscience. With every new object our process evolved and the toys became extremely resilient and structurally sound. So much so that some of the toys we made a few years ago are still in the toy bin today, in the same condition as when we made them. Making objects in this medium was all consuming. I had offered my evenings and weekends for many years, but those were no longer enough. I no longer felt the title of “hobbyist” was appropriate. I needed more time and that meant a new professional path, one that prioritized art, design, and craft. So I left the stability of my career and my supportive family and I moved to Providence, RI so I could pursue an MFA in Furniture Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

My path towards furniture and craft does not feel like a “passion” in the traditional sense. It feels more like a “matter of fact”. In hindsight, perhaps I never had much say in the matter.

You have a complex material list, and the materials you use are a central part of your work. How do you come to find these materials and what is your process for learning about how to best use them?

I make objects with natural materials, design them to last as long as we need and compost/easily recycle, at the end of use. I intentionally work with commercially available, bio-based materials to show what is possible, here and now, to directly address our dependence on oil. My process considers where materials come from, how they are sourced, where they go at end of life and how the entire lifecycle will impact the stakeholders (environment, economy, and community). This work leverages a circular mindset and objectively shows that our environmental hurdles are not a matter of resources but design ingenuity and industriousness.

My work has evolved to leverage the inherent environmental benefits of papermaking craft to create three-dimensional objects. The fabrication is rooted in traditional papermaking and has led to novel techniques for structure, mark making, and surface treatment. The latest credenza was a collaboration with Chicano Artist Tony Torres whom I met in Daniel Heyman’s Papermaking Course. Through a mutual interest in our shared Mexican heritage and experimental fiber work, we utilized the ancient Amate papermaking technique and hand-painted Mesoamerican imagery from the Tōnalpōhualli (260-day Mesoamerican Calendar) to illuminate Mesoamerican history with a symbolic Amate Credenza.

I find myself inspired by artisanal processes that have stood the test of time and reflect a harmonious relationship between humanity and the environment. I believe in the transformative power of learning and preserving techniques that enrich our understanding of cultural traditions and contribute to sustainable living and industry. I believe in the power of rethinking traditional techniques in my approach to contemporary making. Looking to history to understand pre-industrial materials and processes is a point of departure to explore novel applications and techniques. Bridging a gap between pre-industrial traditions and contemporary object making is where my practice sits today and is an integral part of my growth as an artist.

What materials are you currently working with that you think more designers should try incorporating?

I don’t like the idea of “should-ing” any artist/designer. But I love the idea of sharing my fiber knowledge with other designers, brands and collectors. I am currently working with a couple brands to incorporate my fiber work into their collection.

If anyone is interested to play with new materials, there is an abundance of resources available, but the material information typically isn’t positioned in front of artists or designers as “object making” materials. I’ve found the materials are used in other industries and applications. The process to find, identify, and rethink material, learn its properties and understand how to apply it to my practice is challenging and often requires many iterations before getting it right or letting it go. But the satisfaction of developing a novel technique is exciting. And every little lesson that comes there after is nearly equally satisfying.

In addition to materials, you use unique techniques in creating your designs, with some coming from your heritage or being more traditional methods. What is the significance of these techniques to you and similarly to your materials, how do you study and come to master these techniques?

In my work, materiality is a priority while also making space for exploration and iteration. In parallel, these foundational elements offer insight and refinement with every move. As I familiarize myself with the material, I exercise restraint and allow it to guide the process and where the object lands.

How do your projects start? Do you sketch or 3D model or prefer a more organic approach?

I am terrible at sketching! But when an idea pops, I need to scribble it in a notepad before it disappears. So nearly all ideas and processes begin with a ROUGH sketch. The accuracy is not important; the sketch only serves as a tool to jog the memory when I come back to ponder the idea.