Connor Schulz

Eugene

OR

97403

For a while I've found it an exciting challenge to try and discover the areas where form and function meet. Perhaps this is the reason for my interest in things like pottery, furniture, and soft goods. With the right approach, you can meet functionality-based aims with beautiful form, and deliver a good which not only brings someone delight, but also serves their needs well. This chair is a project which tries to accomplish that end goal by letting form be gestural, bold, and essential, all while being guided by a prompt: mindfulness habits and meditation. When sitting down to meditate, having space for a cross-legged sitting position was important. Additionally, I wanted the seat and back to have a "guided center" that would suggest a certain seating position, without enforcing it or restricting body movement. That way, extended periods of meditation would allow small adjustments without discomfort or distraction. Underneath the seat is a leather sling, the second component to this prompt. My mindfulness practice includes meditation, but also journaling and reading. Having a place to store these materials, a place that also prompts the use of these materials, might have been the ultimate aim of this project in terms of function. In terms of form I aimed for the chair to look simple by using continuous shapes, and also by using wide boards for the seat and back panels. I wanted the chair to feel significant; for it to have a weighted presence and feel grounded. When I meditate in it these days, I certainly feel the benefits of this choice. I feel grounded, and the chair is sturdy. I reach under my seat and retrieve my current book, Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and I begin to read. Not only was the prompt for this chair quite personal, but it now prompts me to do the things that are important to me.

I am the designer and builder of this object