Invoking emotions through natural forms: using abstracted natural forms in furniture to invoke emotional reactions

Plants and animals are the most basic and fundamental entities on Earth that we as humans connect to in our day-to-day lives. With a culture that is constantly moving away from nature and into the age of technology many people have found peace and solace in nature. Throughout my life, I have been encapsulated by the emotions and attitudes that different animals have and provoke in others and knew that I had an affinity for the natural world and our emotional connection to it. It wasn’t until I saw the Art Nouveau styles of Tim Burton and Dr. Suess that I learned that these emotions could be created in a fictional fantasy world if the fundamental aspects of what provoked a specific emotion were carried over to a made-up being. The combination of my education in furniture design and the fabrication of the abstract / surrealist worlds that inspired me as a child has been the driving inspiration of my MFA work. This thesis reflects on my process of designing, how I first came up with this theme, and how I approached each project and what I felt were the most important elements to carry over into my work.