A bench is one of the foundational assignments in the Furniture department at RISD. I chose to play with the design language of a Windsor chair. This gave me an opportunity to build skills in wood turning and hand-carving as well as the basic mechanics of seating.  I was also drawn to the idea of a  courting bench. To emphasize aspects of this design, I made a bench that rocks from side to side and requires two people working together. When one person approaches and sits on the bench, it tips to the point of being unusable. When two people use the bench and coordinate movements, they can sit peacefully. To make the bench more dynamic, the users must communicate more, but once they do, they can rock in harmony.