Artist Statement
"My art is communicating. The past communicating with the future, the natural earth communicating with development, the medium is also the message.
Clay is the primary material in all of my art. Mining the clay is the first step of this process and this allows me to see the clay in its most natural state, in the ground.
The clay is formed in layers of color red, orange, yellow and gray and green, my goal is to preserve colors of the clay without adding colorants or oxides. I extract the clay from a site next to my studio, and add non-toxic white glue to the clay, this preserves the natural colors and textures of the clay. The clay mixture is applied to reclaimed wood, when the clay dries it is fixed permanently to the reclaimed wood. The end results are colors and textures of the earth."
Vicky Smith is a native North Carolinian; she received her under graduate degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Master of Fine Arts degree from Jenkins School of Art at East Carolina University. She currently divides her time between teaching part time at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and working in her studio, built on 20 acres of family land, including a large clay mine, in Greene County, North Carolina. Vicky became interested in environmentally friendly art when working on her theses project with the Greene Citizens for Responsible Growth. Her exhibition record includes national juried shows such as; North Carolina Artist Exhibition, 2008, Raleigh, North Carolina,
Clay on the Wall, 2007 Clay National, Lubbock, Texas, Its Only Clay National Ceramics Competition, 2005, Bemidji, Minnesota.