Sharl G. Smith

Statement

Originally from Jamaica, I lived in the U.S.A. for 17 years before moving to Canada in 2015. My inclinations for technical creative expression first led me to study and practice architecture for 10 years. Currently, my art practice is mainly sculptural seed bead art using bead-stitching. This is an art form that constructs shapes, objects and jewellery by weaving together tiny glass (seed) beads by hand, using only needle and thread, one bead at a time. Entirely self-taught in this technique, I have a passion for exploring the sculptural and creative potential of this tiny modular medium. I find that it marries perfectly my love for organic sensual creation with my love for detail-oriented architecture, hands-on construction and geometry.

Artworks

This is a beaded sculpture and lamp developed from a series of studies on the Platonic solids. These well-known geometrical solids have long been celebrated for their harmony, symmetry and intrinsic beauty. I am particularly interested in a more sensory and intimate experience of polyhedra. This shape was constructed as an icosahedron with 20 triangles that invert dramatically due to the beads. The combinations of beads I choose curves the constituent shapes. The triangle seams disappear into 30 rhombuses, evoking the rhombic triacontahedron. The pentagonal lines of the design highlight the fact that the icosahedron and dodecahedron are dual polyhedra. The lights bring to mind Plato's mystical link of the dodecahedron to the constellations.