Andrew Smith 7/8/24 Andrew Smith 7/8/24

CanvasRebel Online Magazine Interview

The online magazine CanvasRebel interviewed me for this June 2024 article on my art process, work with grant programs and arts and culture-related nonprofits, and the shift in “work” as I left the full-time teaching world. The interview ends with some thoughts on the need for creatives to be the strongest supporters of each other and the arts and culture industry as a whole.

Find the article here.

Andrew Smith 6/11/24 Andrew Smith 6/11/24

Visual Realia Exhibit at York's Out Door Country Club

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of Creative York, I have an exhibit of approximately two dozen clay monoprints and photographs at York’s lovely Out Door Country Club. The exhibit runs through July 12th, 2024.

The hallway-based exhibit area naturally allows for sharing monoprints on one side and photographs on the other, essentially providing two mini-exhibits.

For more information on the exhibit, visit the online article on the Culture On The Line website. Works may be purchased here.

“Clay & Pigment” by Andrew T. Smith
Out Door Country Club
May 13 - July 13, 2024
1157 Detwiler Drive, York, PA
Enter Through the Center Doors
Curated by Creative York

All works copyright by Andrew T. Smith and/or Visual Realia, LLC.

Andrew Smith 4/9/22 Andrew Smith 4/9/22

York & Hanover's "Invisible Wall"

I had the good fortunate to talk (and exchange emails) with Jim McClure about the “invisible wall” between York and Hanover, both in the art world and in general. Mr. McClure does a great job sharing some of the historical separations. Communities (and artists) in that straight line between York-Hanover-Gettysburg would benefit from greater efforts to work together.

Read the article at this link.

Andrew Smith 10/27/20 Andrew Smith 10/27/20

Instagram for the Artist

Instagram has several unique aspects that make its use very helpful in sharing our art. I presented an informal look at Instagram for the Hanover Area Arts Guild.

While this won’t cover the discussion, the handout may prove useful for artists new to the platform.

Download the handout by clicking here.

Questions about using Instagram as an artist? Feel free to email.

New to Instagram? Click on the link above for a four page packet.

Andrew Smith 12/21/19 Andrew Smith 12/21/19

Evolution of a Clay Monoprint Matrix

Clay monoprints are designed on a slab of clay known as the matrix, which gradually changes over the course of time, showing the past and influencing the future. It is a living journal of the artist’s works.

When starting a new clay monoprint design, the artist starts with “remnants” of previous works.

The tradition established by artist Mitch Lyons with clay monoprints is to start each work on top of “remnants” of the previous art; some of the clay slip remains behind, gradually building color and design elements that will peek into new art. That randomness is one of the key elements that separates clay monoprint techniques from other printing mediums.

The image at the top of this article shows the clay matrix (in this case, the clay slab upon which new works are designed) as it appeared after pulling the previous print. It also serves as the starting point of the next print. While this new print will primarily be composed of clay slip newly added, some of the former slip in this starting point will also randomly transfer.

In this work, I wanted a background of related colors, so I “painted” various shades of clay slips directly on the matrix, as shown above.

Design elements are added to newsprint and allowed to partially dry.

After all of the design elements were added to the matrix, a piece of pellon was dampened and prepared.

Using various tools, the image is transferred to the pellon. Often, you will see some of the clay slip appearing through the material, as shown above.

The print is allowed to dry and is sprayed with a waterproof sealant, bringing out color and protecting the image. In most cases, the print is then ready for display. In this case, however, black oil paint lines were added on top of the print.

And the matrix? It has a new layer of art history, and awaits the next print.

Andrew Smith 11/8/19 Andrew Smith 11/8/19

Disruption: A Clay Monoprint

Some clay monoprints serve as perfect examples when explaining the uniqueness of the technique. This is one of those examples.

After Mitch Lyons created the medium of clay monoprints, he also established a tradition that is itself unique; when creating a new print, rather than starting on a new matrix of fresh clay, the artist designs on top of the remaining clay from previous prints.

The result is a print that not only picks up and displays clay via color and form, using elements of the new design, but also random areas where pieces of previous prints transfer and speak through the imagery.

This somewhat random "look back" at previous works means that the artist never has complete control of a finished work. The tradeoff? "Happy surprises" that enhance an image in ways that the artists would never have been able to plan for and pull off.

In this way, the clay monoprint tradition mimics much of life. We can be well prepared and thoughtful about our next steps in life, and in doing so, improve our chances of success, but unforeseen events will still occur and in some cases, shape our lives in positive ways.

In the monoprint at the top of this essay, my specific design for the piece was solid stripes of color. Anything in the finished print that is not part of that solid color is a remnant from previous works. The past raising its voice yet again.

Making a clay monoprint is a combination of color, form, the planned, and the unplanned. Disruptions, as in this piece and its title, are an essential piece of the art.