Five Minutes with Vivian Beer
This week’s Visiting Artist at Museum of Glass is “Ellen’s Design Challenge” winner, Vivian Beer! The furniture designer will be experimenting with glass this week, exploring its luminous quality to create lighting fixtures.
Beer worked at Pilchuck Glass School for two weeks prior to her arrival at the Museum. MOG had a chance to catch up with the busy designer as she starts her Hot Shop residency.
Photo courtesy of Vivian Beer.
The most challenging part about designing furniture is…
Balancing all the requirements. It needs to be very cool, clever, or beautiful while also functioning really well. The best pieces challenge material, idea, and engendering all at the same time.
The most rewarding part about my job is…
Getting to constantly explore new materials, places, and ideas.
Photo courtesy of Vivian Beer.
During my Museum of Glass residency, I plan to use glass to…
Continue my explorations started at Pilchuck Glass School over the last two weeks. I’ve never worked with glass before and am fascinated by how it can carry light. This is the perfect opportunity for a furniture designer, like myself, to dig deep into lighting design.
If I could have only two pieces of furniture in my home, they would be…
A couch and a kitchen table because that is where we spend so much of our time at home and are the most social.
Competing on Ellen’s Design Challenge taught me…
How much you can truly get done if you don’t second guess yourself. I’m excited to see what we can do this week at the museum!
Season winning designer Vivian Beer (right) and finalist Sef Pinney (left) with Ellen (center), as seen on Ellen’s Design Challenge. Ellen DeGeneres puts eight furniture designers to the test when they come to Los Angeles to compete in various challenges designing and building amazing furniture creations. With a workshop, a lead carpenter and all the tools they’ll need, the contestants will be tasked with a new build each episode. A panel of expert judges along with appearances by Ellen will eliminate them one by one until one designer is left standing to take home the cash prize and win Ellen’s Design Challenge.
Plan a visit to Museum of Glass to see Visiting Artist Vivian Beer working from June 1 through 5, or watch her residency online.