I graduated!!!

Wow, senior year kicked my butt!

I’ve been home in Grand Haven for a week now, but it feels like I just got here. Last time we talked, I had just finished my last wintersession at RISD and was gearing up for my senior show.

There are so many words I could write about how hard I worked and the time I spent on what I love, but I’ll keep it short. I moved my pour-over coffee setup to my studio so I couldn’t drink coffee in the morning until I was working. I went through about a bag of coffee a week. I loved every minute of it.

My work this year was focused on using the visual language of midwestern domestic spaces, specifically looking at chairs. Looking at chairs intergenerationally, as holding memory, a collaborative project between previous owners and me. Extending that line of thought in the materials I use, repairing old fabric and chair parts, giving them a new life. I began by looking at chairs under the guise of femininity and masculinity, how different areas of the home and furniture items were specifically designed with the traditional views of ‘male’ and ‘female’ gender roles. What happens when I start looking at these chairs less as objects with designated roles, centered around humans, and more as things themselves? By removing their human-imposed objecthood and historically implied gender roles, I was able to see these things as more than a sum of their parts. New, unusual chair-like forms emerged with untraditional forms of bodily engagement.

I made four pieces of jewelry for my senior show. ‘Chairest’, ‘Chairer’, ‘Chairing’, and ‘Chairish.’ I received many questions about how my large-scale plush pieces were considered jewelry. If you break it down, jewelry is just a piece of art that can be worn on the body. There aren’t any rules on size, material, or weight; it all comes down to personal preference.

Seeing all my work up in the Woodsgerry Gallery, where all RISD students show their artwork before graduating, surrounded by all my closest friends’ work, was one of my favorite moments of the year. It was so special. We all worked so hard, and I truly couldn’t have done it without all their love and support.

To celebrate all our hard work, I planned a surprise trip to the goat farm in town! All the baby goats were just a few weeks old; it was so rejuvenating to cuddle with them. We went on a hike around the farm and just enjoyed being together and not having to work in the studio for a bit.

After my senior show, it was right back to work, prepping for photoshoots, finding models, and taking thousands of photos. The rest of the semester was focused on documenting our artwork to hand-bind into a thesis book. I had to come up with the story I wanted to be told through my photos, thinking about posing, wardrobe, mood, location, lighting, framing, colors, graphic design, types of paper, etc. My closest friends Amelia, Jameson, and I all took turns assisting each other on our photoshoots. We took Amelia’s photos at Beavertail Lighthouse, one of our favorite places to go together, on the cliffs as the tide came in. We took Jameson’s photos at some dunes outside of Providence. There were no Michigan dunes, but they did the job.

I took my photos at my dear friend Vicky’s house as well as outside in the neighborhood surrounding. Vicky modeled for me, as well as my friend Rev. Jamie. The models I chose to document my pieces with were really important to me. I wanted it to be important women I’ve met during my time living in Providence, focusing on intergenerational connections. Though I technically didn’t meet Vicky in Providence, I met her at Haystack last summer, and we continued our friendship there, getting together for coffee catch-ups. I really treasure our friendship, and I’m so grateful for all her encouragement and support during this year. Amelia, Jameson, and I saw Rev. Jamie almost every day as we took our breaks from the studio. She is the reverend at The First Baptist Church in the US. Sometimes basking in the sunlight, always breathing in the fresh air, and lined up on the iron bench that sat tucked away on the church lawn. Always a smile, a wave, and almost always a little chat. Jamie is one of our favorite people in Providence, with whom we interact each day, year after year. They were both the perfect models, so grateful for them!

At the end of the year, there was also a fine arts reception to award graduating seniors for their accomplishments, typically in memory of an influential RISD alumnus. I ended up winning the Glancy Award. It’s the largest award in the Jewelry department, honoring Michael Glancy. He was extremely influential in his advancements in electroforming, graduating from the RISD Glass Department in 1980, under the mentorship of glass artist Dale Chihuly. Glancy’s family established the award to support students who have learned and demonstrated potential to further the development of the electroforming process. So grateful to have been selected to receive this award!

Moving out of my studio and my apartment, saying goodbye to friends, and getting ready to drive across the country was so physically and emotionally draining. My time in Providence was so extremely special, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend the past four years growing up in New England. It was extremely hard to say goodbye. To my routines, the faces I see every day, the hills I trekked up and down, the constant sound of traffic and chatter outside my apartment overlooking the First Baptist Church. I’m so grateful it’s so hard to say goodbye. Nowhere else I’d wanted to spend my last four years.

My mom and all my brothers came into town to celebrate my Graduation. It was so special sharing the place I love with the people I love. It was surreal sitting in the audience in my cap and gown, my family behind me, surrounded by my beautiful friends, celebrating our years of work. I’m the first person in my immediate family to graduate from college. I am so proud of myself.

Now what’s next? I’m not sure, and that’s ok!

I’m home in Michigan for another week, catching up on sleep, walking to Lake Michigan, and being with family. Then I’m off to Philadelphia! I decided, with no big job leads and nothing tying me down anywhere, now is the perfect time to take the leap and move somewhere new. My good friend Emma, whom I met working at Village Baker summers ago, has spent the last year living there and teaching in Northern Philadelphia. I’m going to crash with her this summer as I network out there in the art world. Philadelphia has an amazing jewelry and art scene, and I’m so excited to see what’s next! I have a few studio assistant jobs here and there, but nothing long-term in the meantime. I’m continuing to put most of my effort into applying to more long-term fellowships and artist residencies, but good things take time.

I’m a lifelong learner, so graduate school is definitely in my future, but I want to take some time to live in the real world and figure out who I am, not living as a student.

Life is so short. Time is fleeting. No excuses for not doing what you love. I can’t imagine living my life as anything other than an artist. I’m so excited for this new phase of life I’m coming into, and I can’t wait to see what I make next!

Thank you for all the love and support!

<3 Love you,

Sophia