Whimsy and inventiveness characterize the exhibit “Telling Tales: Furniture and Other Objects by Amy Forsyth,” on view at George School until November 15, 2010. A coat tree attached to a bench resembles an actual tree, with green-painted wooden coat hooks in the shape of leaves. Three lamps hang from tall structures composed of colorful painted scraps of wood and surveyors’ sticks, which are marked with numbers and lines like large rulers. The exhibit’s ten pieces of furniture and three works on paper are displayed alongside eighteen journals and twenty framed journal pages that illustrate Amy’s creative process through sketches and words.

“Amy’s work, both her furniture and drawings, are important for young designers to see because she shows delight in the design process, and boundless creativity in the finished product,” said George School woodworking and furniture design teacher Carter Sio, a 1976 graduate of the school.

The exhibit is on view in the Class of 1956 Gallery at George School’s Mollie Dodd Anderson Library. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m.; Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 1:00–5:00 p.m.

At a gallery talk and reception on Thursday, October 28, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., George School arts students will hear Amy speak about her work. Such lectures by guest artists are open to all George School students and are also part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Visual Arts Seminar, a required course for students preparing to take the IB exam in visual arts.

Carter proposed that Amy exhibit at George School because he believes his woodworking and furniture design students will learn important lessons from her work. “In suggesting that Amy show here, I was hoping my students would see the energy and excitement she displays in both the design process and the completed piece, and that they would begin to make that sort of connection in their own work,” said Carter. “Her work is playful, a lot like functional sculpture, and is not the kind of furniture you find in the everyday home.”

Many of the exhibited pieces of furniture include unusual combinations. The large mahogany and maple “Men at Sea Table” has a glass bowl affixed in a hole in its wood. The “Basket Table” is a tall, round table with a woven, basket-like structure attached underneath the tabletop. A small set of drawers has a panel with Hebrew writing, along with eight holes and a candlestick so it can function as a menorah. The red-and-white-painted “Heartbreak Table,” made of walnut and mahogany, has two wooden legs and a third leg made of metal from a mason’s rake.

Some of the exhibit’s works on paper feature structures that appear to draw on Amy’s background in architecture. Now a professor of three-dimensional design and furniture at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Amy earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from Penn State and Princeton University respectively. After several years studying furniture design at craft schools such as Peters Valley Craft Center, Penland School of Crafts, and Anderson Ranch Arts Center, she became involved with The Furniture Society, joining its board, serving as editor of its Furniture Matters newsletter, and joining its editorial advisory board. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Trevose, Pennsylvania, Amy currently lives in Berks County and plays contemporary violin music with several bands.

“Telling Tales” is one of eight exhibitions organized by the George School Arts Department during the 2010-11 year. The Arts Department offers twenty-eight arts courses in ten different visual and performing arts forms, with Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate course options.

About George School
Founded in 1893 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), George School, a rigorous coed boarding and day school for grades nine through twelve, educates students from twenty-one states, thirty-seven foreign countries, and a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and economic backgrounds. Through its commitment to diversity and the Quaker values of equality, integrity, and peacemaking, George School inspires students to be led by their own truths while respecting and appreciating opinions and beliefs different from their own. George School was one of the first schools in the United States to implement an International Baccalaureate diploma program. For information about admission, please call 215.579.6547 or visit http://www.georgeschool.org.