Interior design students create art

Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. Students in the interior design program learned their personalities greatly affected their designs when recently completing projects for a statewide competition.\nThe contest was put on by the International Interior Design Association. Seniors participating in the interior design project created 26 chairs as part of a class required for their major. It is mandatory for seniors in Cynthia Landis' senior studio H476 Interior Design VI to enter the annual competition.\nThe chairs are designed as a reflection of the designers' personality or inspiration. It gives them the chance to compete with other interior design majors and compare skills. The winner of this year's competition not only brings home $300 but also has his or her chair manufactured. The projects are more than a chance for students to express their creativity.\nLast year, contestants had to create their own textile designs. IU students took home second and third place as well as an honorable mention. Catie Crossland, who came in second, was approached by a manufacturer about having her design produced commercially. \nThe inspiration behind the chairs differs vastly from one student to the next, each reflecting the personality and creativity of the person who designed it. One chair, designed by senior Shana Ecker, was inspired by a Versace dress she owns with black stiletto heels and a white furry seat. Another chair designed, by senior Briana Oakley, is made to curve gracefully around the body in marbleized brown with contrasting lime green trim. The black and red lines in another chair are reminiscent of the work of artist Piet Mondrian. \nCurrently, all of the chair design projects are one to two-inch-per-foot scales. The chair models all stand as miniatures, under one foot tall. Each student was required to create a poster explaining the motivation and concept of the chair. Ecker's poster brags her chair design is "sexy, sultry and sophisticated." Ecker said she was inspired by fashion. Her chair not only dons stilletto heel inspired legs, but also sports a black lace-up bodice on its plexi-glass back.\n"I was really excited because we were allowed to do something important to us," Ecker said. \nEcker said she loves clothes and had always been interested in fashion. Her concept poster was also inspired by the pages of fashion magazines.\nEcker describes her chair and the inspiration behind the blend of fashion and form. \n"Capturing the essence of modern couture and reinventing itself into a form inspired by the feminine physique," she said.\nOakley's chair of marbleized brown with lime green trim makes use of line and negative space. The chair resembles a squiggle with its curving base and waving lines.\n"I like things that curve to the body and are fluid. I started playing around with positive and negative space, and I came up with this," she said. \nOakley was proud of her chair and knew exactly where it would fit in.\n"The shadows it casts are really neat and would look good in a restaurant," she said. \nThe results of the finished project provide a glimpse into each student's personality. Senior Erin Gonterman said what the chairs revealed was surprising. \n"I didn't realize how much our personalities showed in these chairs until I did a walk-through," Gonterman said. "I didn't even have to see the name tag by a chair to know whose it was, the individuality came through that much."\nGonterman based her chair design on the work of geometric artist Peit Mondrian whose style she felt was similar to her own. Her chair is reminiscent of Chinese calligraphy in simple lines of red and black. The ornate criss-crossing rods of color combined with the use of negative space creates a chair that looks different from every angle.\nThe students said they were excited about this particular project because they could take more liberties than in past projects. Ecker explained that often projects for class had to be designed to the tastes and qualifications of a hypothetical client. With this project, the students were allowed to create the piece to their own liking.\nGonterman took full advantage of the rare opportunity by indulging herself in the production of the chair. \n"I get so involved with these big projects that it was a great creative outlet to do something quick and fun," Gonterman said. "With this project, we got to use our inspiration and run with it."\nLandis said projects like these help prepare students for their future careers as interior designers.\n"The thing that fascinates me is that I never fail to be amazed by what they can create."\n-- Contact staff writer Jenica Schultz at jwschult@indiana.edu