The Campus Chronicle

Volume 3, No. 27
June 13, 2003

“Steep,” by Crimson Rain McCaslin, is on display at The StarLander CoffeeHouse and Gallery, 11 E. 41st St., through June 28.

Rain predicted for June

A Review
By Hannah Pittard

Growing up with two university art professors for parents, Crimson Rain McCaslin’s direction in life must have seemed all but dictated. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design with a B.F.A. in sculpture, McCaslin moved to Savannah where she works in the technical services department of Jen Library, adding books to the library’s online catalog.

“I have the pleasure of being one the first people to see the new art books SCAD adds to its collection,” she said. “Working for an art school feels natural to me and being around so many other artists is very inspiring.”

“Bled Dry,” a collection of mixed-media work by McCaslin on display at The StarLander CoffeeHouse and Gallery, is inspired by the artifacts of natural history and revolves around collecting and recycling natural materials and formatting them into miniature dioramas or wall-hanging shrines.

“I am a fourth generation artist and grew up accompanying my family to countless art museums and galleries,” said McCaslin. “Even with this early exposure to ‘fine art,’ I found myself instead preferring trips to natural history museums and hardware stores. I simply was not interested in the flat surface of a traditional canvas, but the hokey museum dioramas of ancient cultures and extinct animals fascinated me.”

McCaslin, who admits to being seduced by “natural” materials such as wax, bones, leather, seed pods and copper nails, said that although her work is autobiographical, she attempts to transcend the personal and speak of universal truths.

“Bled Dry” is on display at The StarLander, 11 East 41st St., through June 28.

From student to professor
Rachel Dacks has reason to celebrate this month. Not only has she graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with an M.F.A. in furniture and accepted a position as a SCAD faculty member beginning fall 2003, but she also has witnessed the success of her thesis exhibition, “i/o Lifetales.”

The inspiration behind Dacks’ indoor/outdoor furniture collection came after reading an article in the New York Times. “It talked about how couples need to set aside time to spend with one another,” she said. The idea interested her as both a wife and a student. She began thinking about workstations for couples. Imagining places where they actually do spend time together, Dacks considered the beach and other outdoor spaces. She realized that outdoor furniture is conducive to relaxation and lounging — two things essential in every couple’s relationship.

This realization, however, was only the jumping-off point from which Dacks soon developed a series of fluid outdoor furniture. “An outdoor lounge chair was the first piece of the collection,” she said.

In designing her outdoor series, Dacks first looked indoors. She decided that each piece of indoor furniture has a natural outdoor parallel. “A rug inside is a deck outside,” she explained.

Dacks also researched the branding experience behind such companies as Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn. “Lifetales comes from aspirational selling, which is telling a story through images to make consumers want something,” she said. “I think it’s masterful. It takes a lot of experience to put forward an image that’s steel-plated.”

From oil lamps and lounge chairs to decks and multipurpose pieces, Dacks has created a line of functional, fluid and attractive furniture.

“i/o Lifetales” is on display at Savannah Hardscapes, 513 W. Jones. St., through June 30.