Tattoo Vase

Glass is a material familiar to Smith, a sculptor, printmaker, and installation artist. She has used cast, hot-sculpted, and flameworked glass elements, as well as glass beads, in her multimedia work. For Steuben, she created a simple blown container that she approached as a body with a skin. The decoration, which is engraved or “tattooed” onto the surface of the vessel, consists of common tattoo designs, such as a snake, a butterfly, and a rose. Smith added the motif of the bird’s head, which is a recurring theme in her work. The master glass engraver Max Erlacher developed a new method of engraving for Smith, which allowed her to “draw” on the vase in a manner that looks looser and more spontaneous than traditional engraving. This is an artist proof from an edition of five, and two artist proofs.