Assistant Professor Wesley L. Smith began teaching ceramics at the University of North Dakota in fall, 2006. He received his BFA at the University of Tennessee and his MFA at Texas Tech University. From 2003-2006 he was an Artist in Residence at Tennessee Tech University’s Appalachian Center for Craft. As long as he can remember, he has always loved mythology, science, science fiction, animals, machinery, tools, toys, and technology. It is the melding together and mutating of these subjects and ideas, which he is addressing in his work.

Smith is looking for ways to turn reality off and allow glimpses into (or maybe let creatures out of ) his alternative reality. This fantasy realm can sometimes be scary or totally unbelievable. At the same time there is a sense of play and whimsy connected to children’s games and toys. These opposites present a constant challenge that inspires him. His work is the pursuit of new “realms of reality” and the objects and organisms within.

Currently Smith is working on several wall hanging/pedestal pieces and interchangeable ways to display them. They are pieces that address interaction between a main body and satellite forms or a main object and an unseen object. The components are interesting in that they may become interchangeable between various pieces, making them much like building blocks. Most of Smith’s work (past and present) draws upon specific aspects of popular culture, rooted largely in science fiction and childhood toys. He is also working toward a synthesis or amalgamation of these with a constant influx of new information from television, cinema, and toys.

Ritual Object. 2005. Clay, cone 04 glaze, china and enamel paint, luster, and antler. 6” x 18” x 8”. *