A
ctively seek out ways to make your practices complementary.
E
mbrace disruption. Be a little disruptive yourself.
will meeker (Architecture 2009) and megan gilman (Graphic Design 2008) were working on a poster together at CCA one day, when a studio instructor suddenly charged over and scolded them for being too noisy. They bonded over
tim sharman (Printmaking 1982, MFA 1987, and now Printmaking faculty) and susan padgham sharman
this minor trauma and have been an inseparable pair ever
(Printmaking 1984) met at a CCA print shop “food-in”
disruptive, although they do like to shake up the status quo in
potluck. Tim proposed marriage on the observation deck that
work and life. Today she’s a senior interactive designer with
used to be on the roof of Macky Hall.
Tolleson Design, and he’s a brand strategist and designer
Tim says: “While our artistic disciplines are different— Susan works in textiles and mixed media, and I’m more mul-
since. For the record, Will says, they were not actually being
with Astro Studios, both in San Francisco. Will says: “We are definitely inspired by (and aim to
tidisciplinary—we share our processes and bounce ideas off
always create) disruptive products and services that change
each other constantly. It helps that we both have studio space
the norm and allow for the user to experience something
in our home. There is a lot of cross-pollination of ideas. We
different. For instance Jack Dorsey’s Square has turned the
also collaborate on developing the exhibition programming at
credit card processing industry on its head. And the Nike
Studio Quercus in Oakland, where Susan is the director of the
FuelBand (designed by Astro Studios, where I work) has
nonprofit exhibition space and I serve on the curatorial team
created an entirely new metric to help motivate and track the
and on the board of directors. We try for a give-and-take pro-
progress of activity. It’s true that an innovative and disruptive
cess, allowing each of us opportunities to express our ideas
idea needs to be simple and impeccably executed for it to be
on the problem at hand. Susan is good at organizing and
adopted. Megan and I call upon our different backgrounds
managing a project so that the details come together, and I’m
and strengths to try to look for the unexpected in each other’s
adept at envisioning how to curate and install an exhibition to
projects—some interesting, key thing that would otherwise
show off the work most effectively.”
remain undiscovered.”
☞ studioquercus.com
☞ meganinc.com astrostudios.com
below Bracelet by christopher baas and carleigh wamberg as Fathom & Form
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features