A chair affair

Oct 24

I have been making for almost eight years now and here are some thoughts I’ve had recently while in my studio working with clay.

My current obsession is making tiny ceramic chairs and their entire existence flips the idea of what a chair is on its head.

I’ve taken a familiar everyday object and stripped it of its function by shrinking it and constructing it out of clay. They’re small pieces with big energy, challenging the idea that utilitarian objects don’t hold as much value as that of a painting by playing with scale and material to render the chair’s function useless. It’s funny how we take these objects for granted, even though so many of us become wildly attached to them without fully understanding why, and place inflated value onto items that serve no other purpose than to hang on the wall. We are strange like that (Also side note, no hate to paintings! I love paintings!!!).

My tiny chairs can be hung on the wall by simply placing them over a nail. Or you can place them on a stack of books, a windowsill or your bedside table. Anywhere really! There is no restriction as to how and where you enjoy these miniature chairs in your home.

Have you ever thought about why you gravitate towards a certain seat in your home?

Or guard your favourite mug like there’s no tomorrow? What is it about that seat that you’re drawn to? Does it bring you comfort? Offer a sense of safety and familiarity? Does that mug hold personal significance in some way? Is it the colour you’re drawn to, the texture or the way it sits in your hand? Whatever the reason, I invite you to think about the objects in your home that you use everyday. Why do you surround yourself with the pieces you have? I hope they bring you joy!

I am a very sentimental collector and I surround myself with objects that are tactile and can be picked up and examined, viewed from afar or up close, pieces that hold memories from travels or of friends and loved ones, and pieces that have been gifted by fellow creatives. Everything has a story whether it’s deep or not. I am definitely more clutter-core leaning than minimalist, thats for sure!

I have made these tiny chairs so that they serve no other purpose than to bring you joy when you look at them. You can pick it up and hold it in your hands. You can move it to where ever you want it to be and use it for whatever purpose you want. There are no rules and there is something freeing about that which makes me happy!