Three More Years In The Studio
Given the choice between Manhattan and Cambridge, MA which would you choose?
Despite my continued dubiety towards New England, I sided with two 3d printers, three laser cutters, one 3-axis mill and a CNC router. Oh, and they have a good faculty too.
The best thing one can do for themselves when trying to decide which graduate school they would like to attend is to visit. Even if one visits five schools in five different cities the cost is negligible compared to the total outlay for one's education. If I hadn't visited the schools that offered me admission I never would have known how bureaucratically disorganized Manhattan is.
Coming back from Boston I step outside of the train station and catch a glimpse of College Hill looking rather dignified and behind me the Capital especially stately. The deco tower downtown is getting ready to turn on the light in it's tiny cupola and people everywhere are busy with their lives. I like B-level cities because there's room for clouds between their skyscrapers and vistas across their developments. Providence, I realize now, shares something with Austin in this regard.
Moving from Providence to Cambridge should be a much smoother transition than returning to the East Coast after spending some time in California. Still, I'm expecting this to shake up life more than leaving California did, mostly because my time in Providence has not been so well defined. I'm unsure of what Providence has given me and what I will leave here.
Looking through some old email I came across this advice from Adam which has served me fairly well at RISD.
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 21:19:47 -0700
From: Adam Mathes
Subject: [...]not art student - *design* student
don't forget
Whether he knew it or not, Adam implicitly cut right to the point of design and, ultimately, education: solving problems and making better. Let's hope I can sustain this for another three years.
--Posted 04/16/04 02:37AM