Why a picture of a chair? Like most things in my life, this inanimate object has a story––one that is personal to me and also historical in context. I think the story of a chair can and will provide you with some inspiration though…
This cantilever chair was my first piece of furniture and it has come to be my “thinking chair.” In November of 2012, I moved to Rhode Island to go to school for scientific illustration. And by moved, I mean––I packed my car and drove there. I had no job, no apartment…nothing but some clothes and bare necessities. My friends and family did not understand what I was doing. In my mind I could see where this critical piece fit into my “big picture,” and that was all that mattered––I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and I was there to make it happen. I interviewed for jobs out of my car. I was offered multiple positions and took two. I found an unfurnished apartment to live in and moved myself in.
Master Simplicity.
Sitting in an empty living room on two found cushions, I had a lot of questions to answer––going back to school for scientific illustration was without a doubt what I wanted to do, but how was I going to make enough money to pay for school without loans, make my bills, and put food on the table? I was, after all, alone in a brand-new city without any kind of support network.
Think Big.
There is something about being in empty spaces––they enable you to really think big. So does walking. On one of my daily strolls, I found a discarded cantilever chair. This was not just any chair though––it was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1930. Mies was a well-known German American architect who was an advocate of simplicity and open floor plans. He sought to to establish his own style, representative of modern times. Day in and day out, I would sit in my (new to me) chair, strategizing for hours on how I was going to make it all work. This time and space allowed me to explore and map out all of the opportunities and barriers in accomplishing what I wanted.
Synthesize.
So, how did I do it? I ended up teaching at two colleges during the day, and I went to school at night. On the weekends, I worked at Good Earth Farms, trading my hard work on the farm for vegetables, and I worked at the Local Catch for protein, cutting fish, shucking scallops, and selling fish at the market. If I needed extra money for art supplies, I flipped dumpster items on Craigslist, sold my hand-sewn textiles at vending events, and worked other odd jobs from lawn care, to cleaning houses, to making/serving coffee to famous musicians at the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals.
Break the Rules.
To this day, I sit in this very chair designed by Mies and think of what it must have been like to successfully establish an architectural style for an era. When I was in the scientific illustration program at Rhode Island School of Design, my mentor always told me that I was breaking all of the rules of scientific illustration and that my work created a certain kind of tension. You know what else she told me? To keep doing it.
If you have something that you really want to do, you do not always have to follow the rules and it does not have to make sense to everyone else. Try to find an empty space or paper an entire wall and write down all of your ideas. I guarantee, you will uncover and create innovative opportunities for yourself and/or the organization you work for. Most importantly, remember to keep it simple, think big, and do not forget to put it all into action!