design dialogue: erin mcguiness.
June 22, 2011
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAREN ALPERT
Bay-area sculptor Erin McGuiness is a creative type we can relate to: Not only does she believe that one should indulge in “a little sugar every day,” but her perfect getaway is a simple, coastal hike through Northern California’s Inverness “where you can see starfish and anemones.” Candy and beach walks do it for us, too, Erin!
Name one of the top shops in your area.
I love Vessel Gallery in Oakland. The proprietor sells a lot of handmade jewelry but also has rotating exhibits in the space, which in itself is really amazing: a renovated horse stable. It’s reflective of my work, a combination of modern and earth-based.
How do you get inspired?
I love design magazines and design blogs; they’re my porn. I’m really inspired by how people use space and how they place objects, and by how those objects relate to one another.
Who are your design icons?
Frank Gehry and Noguchi and Brancusi are at the top of the list, and I also admire clay sculptors and ceramicists like Eva Hild.
What’s on your nightstand?
I’m reading Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, and I just finished a novel called Twisted Tree by Kent Meyers.
After a hectic day, where do you escape?
I love to go to Osmosis, a beautiful Japanese meditation garden that also has cedar baths. That’s where I go when I’ve had a busy season.
What are you up to now?
I recently moved to my own private studio from a group studio. It’s in a 1920s mattress factory in Berkeley—a block-long warehouse with big skylights. My neighbors will be glassblowers and printmakers and a bunch of other wonderful artists, but I’ll also have a door for a little privacy.
