Robert S. Purser
I was born in Louisiana and grew up in the South. Much of my youth was spent in Gainesville, Florida. Both of my parents were university professors and artists. My father painted the struggle of the Black man in the South most of his life. The subject of Mother's work was landscapes, still lifes, etc. From early childhood I wanted to be an architect but was told in high school that my math skills weren't up to it.
In 1958 my father accepted a one-year position at a university in Southern California as a visiting artist. Not caring for the area, I took a bus North to attend Central Washington College of Education in Ellensburg. At that time I wanted to go into art education and Central had a national reputation among small colleges. Also there was no tuition. I graduated in 1962 from Central with a BA in art and a minor in drama. My main passion at this time was throwing pots on the wheel.
In 1962 I joined the Peace Corps and went to Peru to work in ceramics. That didn't pan out but I did work in crafts development- specifically design of alpaca textiles. After Peru, I attended the University of Washington to complete an MFA. I wrote my own program with an emphasis on design and became quite interested in the process of teaching design. I graduated from the UW in 1966. This same year I got a job teaching at the new community college, across the lake in Bellevue. I taught design, drawing, textile design, art appreciation and was department chair for many years. As time went on I concentrated on teaching 2-D design, color theory and history of modern design and architecture.
During the 70's I worked on and received a PhD from the University of Oregon in art education. My main interest was in teaching students more about architecture and our built environment. My dissertation involved creating a model for teachers to use to untangle this vast field we call architecture.
In 2000 I retired from full-time teaching at Bellevue Community College to have more time for travel and studio work. I still teach two quarters each year. My favorite is an interdisciplinary class that combines the history of modern furniture with design and architecture history.
In 1983 I married Carolyn (a second marriage for both of us). She is a graphic designer (graduated from the University of Washington in painting) and a second generation Swede. We share interest in architecture education, both working extensively with the Seattle Architectural Foundation. I have led architectural tours fort the past 15 years and written a few. Both of us are very active in the organization, Northwest Designer Craftsmen. We also both share a great love for the Nordic countries and belong to a Swedish lodge. In recent years we have taken several groups to the Nordic countries to gain a greater appreciation of the fabulous design there.
