Jessica Smith

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Biography: 

Jessica Smith is a ceramic artist.  Smith actively exhibits her artwork, makes presentations at academic conferences, and participates in artist residencies.  She has been a recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.  Smith grew up in the Chicago area, completed her undergraduate work at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and received her graduate degree from Tulane University.  Smith has taught at the University of West Alabama since 2005 and currently serves as a Professor of Art.

Artist Statement: 

I am moved by spaces. My latest body of work is influenced by different elements that vary from the largeness of architectural structures to the smallness of candy. If you look particularly closely at my current work, then you will see hundreds of hand-molded gummy bear forms. These forms also call to mind architectural rebar and mathematical tessellations. I work with shapes in space while holding childlike wonder about the artistic process. I navigate combinations, investigate possibilities, and trudge through structural pitfalls that occur along the way.  I find endless fascination in making sense of sculptural space that toes the line between balanced precision and necessary improvisation.