Bio
Jan Smith received her BFA from NSCAD in Nova Scotia, Canada and studied jewellery in Seattle WA and at Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC.
Smith has exhibited across Canada, USA and Europe, including a solo exhibition Memoria at Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, NS. In 2022 Smith’s work was included in Confined at the Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON. Selected group exhibitions include Face à Face, Parcours Bijoux, Paris, France. Jan was AiR Summer Artist Series 2016, NSCADU, Halifax, NS, The Smitten Forum and Pentaculum. Publications include New Brooches, New Earrings, Signs of Life-2006, and five of the Lark 500 series.
Jan has received awards from The Enamel Society, Northern California Enamel Guild and the Vancouver Foundation. Smith’s work is held in Canada Council Art Bank Collection and private collections in North American
Represented by Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h, Trove Gallery and the Craft Council of BC Gallery. Jan is currently living and working on Salt Spring Island.
Jan Smith received her BFA from NSCAD in Nova Scotia, Canada and studied jewellery in Seattle WA and at Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC.
Smith has exhibited across Canada, USA and Europe, including a solo exhibition Memoria at Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, NS. In 2022 Smith’s work was included in Confined at the Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON. Selected group exhibitions include Face à Face, Parcours Bijoux, Paris, France. Jan was AiR Summer Artist Series 2016, NSCADU, Halifax, NS, The Smitten Forum and Pentaculum. Publications include New Brooches, New Earrings, Signs of Life-2006, and five of the Lark 500 series.
Jan has received awards from The Enamel Society, Northern California Enamel Guild and the Vancouver Foundation. Smith’s work is held in Canada Council Art Bank Collection and private collections in North American
Represented by Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h, Trove Gallery and the Craft Council of BC Gallery. Jan is currently living and working on Salt Spring Island.
Statement
In my artistic practice since 2014 I have used repetitive mark making comprised of lines and dots to alter the metal substrate combined with vitreous enamel to give a tactile delicacy inferring surfaces and textures from my environment. Walking, observing, and gathering are my daily rituals; I am absorbed by the complexity of the ephemeral natural ecosystem. Evolving from an intimate connection to place and reflects my sense of identity and home this current work reflects my ongoing preoccupation with marks the ocean and wind create on the sand and stone upon the shoreline of the west coast of BC. This work is a means of highlighting my concerns surrounding environmental issues particularly climate change. My work documents transient almost unperceivable conditions and I am asking the wearer and viewers to reflect on what is fleeting, perhaps endangered, in these times.
In my artistic practice since 2014 I have used repetitive mark making comprised of lines and dots to alter the metal substrate combined with vitreous enamel to give a tactile delicacy inferring surfaces and textures from my environment. Walking, observing, and gathering are my daily rituals; I am absorbed by the complexity of the ephemeral natural ecosystem. Evolving from an intimate connection to place and reflects my sense of identity and home this current work reflects my ongoing preoccupation with marks the ocean and wind create on the sand and stone upon the shoreline of the west coast of BC. This work is a means of highlighting my concerns surrounding environmental issues particularly climate change. My work documents transient almost unperceivable conditions and I am asking the wearer and viewers to reflect on what is fleeting, perhaps endangered, in these times.
Winter Piercing 1 |
8.5 x 8.5 x 0.5 cm | sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, steel pin stem |
2019 (sold)
Winter Erosions (bowl on separate base) | 12.0 x 12.0 x 3.0 with 4.0 x 4.0 x 1.5 foot | sterling silver, copper, electroformed copper, vitreous enamel | 2022 (travelling in exhibition Hold: Enamel Bowls)
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Winter Lines 2 | Mono-print Display Unit: 15 x 20 x 3.0 cm, Brooch 7 x 7 x 0.3 cm | Wood, silk tissue paper, ink, brass, sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, steel pin stem | 2016 (sold)
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Winter Piercing 2 | Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.5 x 0.5 cm | sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, steel pin stem | 2020 (sold)
Currents | 11 x 5.3 x 0.8 cm | sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, steel pin stem | 2019 (at Noel Guyomarc’h)
Sandstone Erosions | 9.6 x 9.4 x 0.6 cm | sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, leather | 2016 (at Noel Guyomarc’h)
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Tidal Attachments | 8.5 x 7.8 x1.3 cm | sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, leather | 2016 (at Noel Guyomarc’h)
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Tidal Flotsam | 10 x 6.5 x 1.3 cm | sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, silk thread, aquamarine stones, nylon monofilament, leather | 2016 (sold)
Frosted Lichen | 8.75 x 7.50 x 0.8 cm | sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, leather | 2019 (sold)
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SeafoamTidal Pool | 6.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 cm | sterling silver, copper, vitreous enamel, pearls, steel pin stem | 2017 (sold)
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