I am currently a student at Kent State University, working at my Masters of Fine Arts with a concentration in Jewelry Metals and Enameling. When I came to Kent, my work was influenced by my musings on how the world is constructed. This first was expressed in works that reflect human nature as well as works that allude to ones place in the world. Since then, my focus has narrowed, and my “current work” expresses ones connection with the naturally occurring field to forest timeline in a developed society which looks down on uncontrolled landscaping and the natural wildflowers most commonly seen as “weeds.” By using those native wildflowers as imagery in my works in metal, I am elevating the status of the typically undesirable plants and creating adornment for buildings, cracks, crevices, and the places where those plants first tend to appear.
“Wildflowers” Series:
Big thanks to Emily Bolton for spending the day taking pictures of my building adornment and large wildflower vessel pieces in the heart of Cleveland, Ohio.
Explorations in metal:
Rachel Suzanne Smith 