Farrago.

I hung two pieces in the my first ever group show today. It feels so good to have artwork displayed in a gallery for people to see. Farrago is a collection of projects completed for CCAD’s Spring 2014 Material Studies class. There is a lot of variety and some really great pieces. If you happen to be free this Friday evening from 7-9pm you should stop by our closing reception (2nd floor DSB).

I’ll share with you my artist statements:

Soldiers
Kaitlyn Jo Smith
4¼ x 9¾ x 1
found objects
2014

I was drawn to a stack of eight wallet-sized photos hidden within a drawer at an antique mall. They were of men in uniform; only one had anything written on the back – 1945. It seemed a disservice to leave them lie. I do not know these men and I do not know their stories, yet I possess their photographs. “Soldiers” is a piece about anonymity and uniformity, that of the soldier and the shell, during wartime.

Neither Moth nor Rust
Kaitlyn Jo Smith
31 x 21
salt prints, encaustic, wood
2014

Encasing my grandparents in wax is my feeble attempt of preserving them. “Neither Moth nor Rust” has allowed me cope with the loss of my grandfathers and the aging of my grandmothers by helping me to map out our parallel existences on this earth. Each tile is representative of five years time; four tiles are equivalent to my age (nearly twenty). A photograph indicates life; bare wood indicates death. As the tiles progress the wax grows thicker. This is my current struggle: becoming closer to these people who are being pulled further and further away.

Title from Matthew 6:20
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”