Conifer Smith

Conifer Smith’s journey through the arts has been a circuitous one. Her art career did not begin by going to college. A hands-on apprenticeship was eye opening and life changing.

Introduced to ceramic work in high school and continuing that education at an arts center in Ames Iowa, Smith began working with a wood fire potter, learning all aspects of wood firing including building and firing kilns. The apprenticeship was all encompassing, and the life of a studio potter began.Art fairs are the livelihood of an emerging artist and travel throughout the Midwest began. A visiting artist suggested Smith apply for a concentration in ceramics at the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. Along with visiting artists from the area, Ron Meyers, Frank Boyden and Don Reitz increased Smith’s knowledge and expanded the possibilities. In the evenings, the glass shop caught everyone’s attention and an introduction to the art of glass blowing began a second lifelong passion. Returning to Ames, she met David Martin, PhD in Material Science and Engineering. Immersing herself in this mentorship, Smith learned the art of blowing glass.

After many years of making her way as a studio potter Smith received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, followed by a Master of Arts from Iowa State, Ames. Smith was invited to join the faculty at Kirkwood College in Cedar Rapids Iowa in 2001 to teach ceramics and sculpture. There she started the wood fire and glass program, building kilns and furnaces, sharing her passions with her students. Concurrently, Smith earned a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, Iowa City.

Conifer Smith’s professional work has been featured in publications such as, Wood Fired Ceramics - One Hundred Contemporary Artists and 500 Teapots, Volume 2- Lark Publishing. Smith curated an historic exhibition of ceramics entitled, “4000 Years of Ceramics” and a juried exhibition, “Gems from the Fire”. Smith’s work has been featured internationally in ceramic workshops in Greece and China, and in numerous workshops and exhibitions throughout the US. Her research has led her to museums and artists in China, Turkey, England, France, and Italy. Her life has been enriched by interacting with students from diverse cultures including Belgium, Korea, Japan, China, Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Her work has been part of an effort to bridge cultures and promote a supportive learning environment.

Currently, Smith is developing new ceramic work and focusing on casting glass along with research combining ceramics and glass. 

My ceramic sculptures delve into the subconscious mind and its connection to and reflection of naturally occurring geologic formations. The heat, rending, and metamorphosis so common to geologic processes have counterparts in a life that is passionately lived. There is beauty and smoothness as well as cracks and fissures in rocks as in people. The work reflects this. My interest in figurative vessels has evolved and abstracted to upright, blade-like forms that still roughly retain the shape of the feminine while vigorously exploring surface texture. The application of porcelain slip on the base of dry sculpture clay results in the porcelain cracking as it shrinks and dries. This texture enlivens the surface. Flaws, cracks, wrinkles and imperfections make humans beings unique and often approachable. I am continually intrigued by the stochastic nature of the surfaces of my sculptural work. I imagine these large sculptures in many places. A reflecting garden with winding paths, revealing sculptures as one walks through, rock gardens with yucca or a twisted mesquite, enlivening an entryway or a foyer, or anchoring a long hall with a mirror behind. Also, I can imagine them in groups of three, conversing and always, dancing.