Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Chiu.
Hi Jonathan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I moved to Minnesota a few years back because I wanted to make comics and the Minneapolis College of Art & Design has a Comics Major, which seemed like a perfect fit. However, I found myself taking furniture electives every semester because working in the 3D shop and learning how to use each piece of equipment was so new and exciting. I felt that after graduation I wouldn’t get the chance to use tools such as the table saw, MIG welder, or CNC machine so the classes where I could build furniture and sculptures became opportunities to explore new ways of making.
I decided to focus on furniture once I realized how much collaboration went into the process. I would always be asking a friend or shop tech for help whether it was showing me how to use a new tool, taking measurements for a chair I was designing, or just helping me carry a giant piece of plywood that I couldn’t lift by myself. The studio space became a home to me, and that connection with others finds itself within my work.
In the work I’m making today I try to bring a sense of play and humor to each environment. I want to create an atmosphere that makes it easy to laugh and hang out with others.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I graduated in December 2020 at the height of the pandemic so it was unclear how making furniture and artwork would have a place in the world, especially at a time when nobody was supposed to meet face to face. Everything I make is very tactile-based and meant to bring people together so I’ve had to put a lot of my ideas on hold as we figure everything out. After graduating, I had no tools so I have slowly been building a collection and learning how to put together a woodshop on my own. Altogether, it’s been difficult but a rewarding experience seeing how things have progressed in the past few years.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I feel that as we grow older, we forget how important having a sense of play and imagination is to our creativity so I want to reintroduce these kinds of opportunities into our lives. Everything I make is meant to carry a sense of humor, which I hope helps people be less serious or guarded and instead more at ease and empathetic.
Most of what I make is through woodcarving, whether it’s a rocking chair or a set of small animals. I like the imperfect surfaces it makes and giving every piece unique handcrafted forms. Recently, I’ve been learning how to carve stone, and it’s been a fun challenge to incorporate into my work. I’m most proud when my work makes someone laugh or gives them a chance to be silly.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Participating in as many opportunities as I can has been the most important form of networking I have done. A lot of the time this has involved jobs or skills that I’m not 100% familiar with, but in doing so I got to be introduced to new people as well as learn skills I would otherwise have never known.
Contact Info:
- Email: jonathanchiu.studio@gmail.com
- Website: https://jonathankaeruchiu.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonny.chiu/
