Newspaper Page Text
Sunday in Forsyth
Sunday, September 30,1984
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lan Kirby, associate Keith Bushee work out design
W oodworking
Art of design creates pieces of fine furniture
By Doug Allinger
Th# Sunday N«w«
Design, arrangements of parts and
materials, form, details and odor, are
part of everything we see and use. So
much so, that we often take for
granted the amount of work and thought that
goes into the design of even the simplest man
made things.
About a mile south of Cumming on Highway
9, next door to Heard’s Bargain Barn, people
come from all over the United States to study
the art of design. Kirby Studios, a full-time
school of woodworking and design, attracts
serious students from far and wide to learn and
develop creative, problem-solving skills.
They also learn to make exquisitely crafted
furniture.
lan Kirby, an interna tionally-reknowned
designer and woodworker, uses woodworking
as a vehicle to lead his students to a
comprehensive understanding of the
relationship between man and the environment
he creates for himself.
The ultimate aim, according to the 51-year
old Englishman, is to help create a versatile
person who has the ability to visualize and
conceptualize ideas.
Kirby is assisted by Rosalind Freer, an
English woman accomplished in her own right
as a graphic artist, designer and ceramist. It is
Ms. Freer who helps get the creative juices
flowing in the Kirby Studio students.
“I try to help them loosen their minds, to
teach them to conceptualize furniture in terms
of forms, shapes and space,” said Ms. Freer,
who, like Kirby, seems very energetic and
happy with what die is doing.
For a designer, it is very important to
redefine everything one sees, she said, because
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Mark Coleman of Kansas prepares buffet for a show
the world is constantly being changed first by
designers.
Kirby Studios, first founded in 1976 in remote
Bennington, Vt., has been in Cumming a little
more than a year now. Kirby chose Cumming
because of its proximity to Atlanta.
There are no set requirements for joining the
school, which features a four-year curriculum.
There are no requirements in terms of
qualifications, but students, after a full day
visit to the studio, must demonstrate a sincere
desire and total commitment toward becoming
a designer.
Most of the 16 students currently enrolled are
on their second time around in terms of
postsecondary education. Their past
experience is about as varied as the license
plates on the cars at the studio. Along with
plates from Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama,
Texas, Maine and Florida are students with
degrees in biology, literature, anthropology
and business. Only a few of the students have
any significant prior experience woodworking.
Randy Fickett, an 11-year veteran carpenter
from Maine, said that although he has worked
with a lot of wood in the past, he is not sure
whether it is an advantage.
“I have had to throw out a lot of ideas I had in
my head about woodworking and start all
over,” he said. “One of the most important
things we learn is that there is not just one way
of doing things.”
The studio, which features a library, drawing
cubicles for each student, a complete shop with
power tools, presses, drills and other
equipment neatly kept, is constantly filled with
activity.
The only required activity period is an early
morning drawing session. “This helps students
realize their creative ability as well as
providing than an opportunity to gain
Forsyth County News
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lan Kirby is devoted to his studio, students
confidence in themselves.
“Our goal is to develop the individual’s
potential. We are not a sausage factory,
turning out CPAs and attorneys. Rather, we
take people with a sincere interest and
commitment to learning and help them apply
the skills and creativity they have,” said
Kirby.
Although most all the students in their second
year or beyond have pieces of furniture they
have completed, the studio was bare of their
weak except for several unfinished pieces.
Most of the studio’s work is currently on
display in two suites at Peachtree Center in
Atlanta, where it will stay until November.
Nov. 1-3, the studio’s work will be among
hundreds of others on display at Atlanta
Merchandise Mart exhibit “Connexions.”
The goal of most students at Kirby Studio is
to break into the business of designing
furniture for manufacturers of fine furniture,
or to commission work for large corporate
accounts and private collectors.
“We not only teach the student how to design
and build furniture, we help them learn the
techniques of marketing and how to break into
the business,” Kirby said.
“It is certainly not for everybody, and there
is some risk involved,” said Ms. Freer. The
risk for many of the students has come with
quitting their jobs, moving to a strange state,
and embarking on a three- or four-year
journey.
That is part of the course toward becoming a
designer of any kind, said Kirby, adding that
most of his students are of independent nature
and free thinkers.
“One cannot be a designer, a creative
person, and still have one foot in safety,” he
said.
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Chris Wigger, student from New Jersey, works on drawing
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Joe Wilson puts the finishing touches on buffet
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Rosalind Freer (left) works with Kurt Ptacek,
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