Life as an Artist
Beginnings
Born the eldest of three equally talented daughters to an architect/nature photographer father and a mother who has a life-long passion for flowers and gardens, I was destined to have a deep reverence for the environment and an innate understanding of what the Japanese call “Wabi-sabi”; the art of finding beauty in the imperfections and elegance of nature, of accepting the natural cycles of growth, flourishing and decay/death.
My Father Clyde H. Smith & I enjoy an orange on the top of my first mountain climbing trip at age four & a half!
Early Years
My early years were spent blissfully engaged with all manner of creativity and adventure as I grew up in the forests, pastures and gardens of Shelburne Farms, in Shelburne, VT.
In those days we were given complete freedom to play, explore and engage with the hundreds of acres of wild land surrounding our rural home and the mythic buildings which dotted the farm – relics of the late 19th century Gilded age primarily designed by the prominent architect, Robert H. Robertson.
I believe that growing up with these remarkable buildings and out in the wilds of nature laid the seeds for what would later become my current art/career path of expression: the building of faerie houses and other environmental sculpture works.
The restored Inn at Shelburne Farms. When I was a child, this was a private summer home. As children we got to explore and play here to our heart’s content.
The magnificent Farm Barn at Shelburne Farms. This was a big part of my childhood.
Travels
As with all mythic adventures, the traveler must go away before they can return home and so it was with me. I lived in various eco-systems all over the country with longer stays in rural NH, Florida and a long time in Boulder, Colorado.
I was fortunate to be able to make my living most of the times as a professional watercolor artist/illustrator and to travel to many sacred and magical locations my favorites being the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and New Zealand.
I also explored the internal landscape with deep excursions into mythology, meditation and ancient studies which captured my imagination and fed back into my creative work. All of that discovery and knowledge have now become a part of my matrix.
After returning from a trip to New Zealand the spirit of adventure was hard to let go. Having tea and cake at the edge of the ice just before it broke up in early spring seemed like a perfect little diversion.
Return
Having returned to the forests of North America, deep in the ancient Adirondack mountains, I continued to study and paint. Then in 2007 I turned my creativity to a new venture; working directly with the landscape making environmental art.
I love living on the fringe of what is considered “normal” and continue to thrive in the liminal spaces between the visible and invisible realms where magic still exists and the flow of timelessness is experienced regularly. I am a bridge person, of that I am sure….the rest is still a work-in-progress.
One of the many amazing views from the property that surrounds my home-studio. A land of ever-changing beauty and magic.
