About
Andrew T. Smith is a visual (clay monoprint) artist, educator, grant navigator, musician, nonprofit board member, and community supporter.
Projects
Culture On The Line aims to share & document the area’s cultural highlights.
Housed in the historic 1913 post office in Hanover, PA, exhibits change regularly and feature regional artists.
Coverage in the York Dispatch
Art studio focusing on clay monoprints and local photography.
Arts Navigator at Cultural Allaince of York County
"Navigators will work one-on-one with grant applicants to provide guidance, resources and technical assistance as applicants fine-tune their grant ideas and make future plans for their careers."
Positive community support for the Greater Hanover area.
Side Projects
Ophelia's Making Agency (OMA) helps individuals in minority communities of York, Pennsylvania, pursue artistic, creative, or entrepreneurial professions with support and resources at all stages of the process. "Effective Altruism Through Art & Entrepreneurship."
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The Adams County Farmers Market is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit based in historic Gettysburg, PA, committed to fostering a vibrant farmers market which assists consumers in obtaining nutritious food while strengthening the bond between agriculture and the community.
Through strong community partnerships, the Adams County Farmers Market is able to facilitate many food assistance programs that help address hunger-related and food access issues in Adams County. Our farmers market administers multiple incentive programs that assist lower income shoppers in buying locally produced food while promoting health and wellness in our community.
Three levels of community spaces, technology, and friendly staff are located just three blocks from the center of town on Route 94. The Guthrie has been welcoming Hanover area families since 1911.
Little Free Library and garden beds. Take a book, leave a book. Sit on the bench and enjoy the flowers or grab the newspaper to go.
Conceived and organized two successful, sold-out discussions for and about artists, creatives, and their business world. Moderated the first event.
Exhibitions
The West Chester clay monoprint-focused exhibit features works by Meredith Wakefield, Steve Koelsch, Robin Sesan, and Andrew Smith, as well as representative works by the medium's creator, Mitch Lyons. Exhibit visitors can explore the artists' varied styles and paths within this unique art form.
For more information and insights from the participating artists, read an article on the exhibit by clicking here.
There is little as tied to the Earth as clay. Feldspar in the rocks from Earth's crust weathers and erodes over long periods, eventually reacting with water to form the unique minerals in clay. Clay was used for vessels and storage containers necessary as humans evolved. Over time, decorations were added to these clay works, and eventually, clay was used to create expressive pieces that had no functional use.
Pennsylvanian Mitch Lyons, a master of printmaking and clay arts, ingeniously merged elements of both in his unique approach. His artistic process involves creating a work using handmade colored clay slips on a large stoneware clay slab. Pellon is placed on the slab, and pressure is applied to transfer the design, resulting in a one-of-a-kind print: a clay monoprint.
Adding an intriguing twist to the process, the next design is created on top of the remnants of the last. When the print is made, the new design and random elements of previous designs are transferred. This unique method ensures that while the artist certainly creates the work, they do so without complete control of the outcome, adding an element of unpredictability.
On the other hand, I remember always having a camera. I've never been obsessed with gear, but I do enjoy printing the works myself. Many of the prints on display were created with pigment inks, completing a connection between the two art mediums.
The "Clay & Pigment" exhibit is named after the colorants that give my works vibrancy. It runs from May 13th through July 6th, with an opening on Friday, May 17th, from 6-8 PM. For inquiries, contact Andrew Smith at ostman4200@comcast.net or visit www.visualrealia.com.
Location: Out Door Country Club
1157 Detwiler Dr., York, PA
Curated by Creative York
Link on Culture On The Line
Link on the Visual Realia website
The "unentitled" exhibit moves to Gettysburg as seven artists with unique mediums and techniques exhibit collaborative works exploring the theme of entitlement.
Seven artists with unique mediums and techniques exhibit collaborative works exploring the theme of entitlement.
Solo exhibit of more than two dozen clay monoprint works by Andrew Smith of the Visual Realia Studio, running December 2022 through January 2023 in the Gallery @227 gallery space.
The exhibit was featured in an article on Culture On The Line.
Over 30 clay monoprints on display at York's (PA) The Grotto, the coworking space and nonprofit for south central Pennsylvania.
Solo exhibit of clay monoprint works by Andrew Smith of the Visual Realia Studio, running summer of 2021 in the ACAC's main gallery.
Solo exhibit of photography works by Andrew Smith of the Visual Realia Studio, running in February 2016 in the ACAC's main gallery.
Writing
After a 32-year career as a music teacher in Perry County, Andy Smith operates Visual Realia, a clay monoprint studio. This unusual medium combines techniques from both pottery and printmaking, using colored clay slips to design a work on a slab of clay before transferring it to its final surface. Numerous examples filled several solo exhibitions from 2021 to the present.
Other projects include working as an arts “navigator” to aid creative entrepreneurs with the grant writing process. In addition, 2022 marked the creation of Culture On The Line, an online home for documenting the area’s cultural highlights, creators, and artists.
Andy is a past president of the Hanover Area Arts Guild and is currently a board member of the Guthrie Library in Hanover and the Adams County Farmers Market in Gettysburg. He currently holds the role of Board President for the newly formed Ophelia's Making Agency in York.
2023 brought the opportunity to create the Gallery at the Old Post Office and curate exhibits featuring regional artists throughout the year.
Other interests include photography, wildflower gardening, food, his various communities, and an occasional pun.
To contact Andy, email him at ostman4200@comcast.net.
Much of our lives involve the tension between control and chance. We strive to determine outcomes, but life throws the unexpected at us. The clay monoprint medium mirrors this uncertainty.
The art of the clay monoprint is based on a tradition where new works literally build on the prior; the artist designs each original print upon the remnants of the prints before. Clay monoprint artists know that random elements of past prints will appear randomly; the artist shapes the work but never has complete control, much as life itself. With this in mind, the medium and artist focus on process over product.
Pennsylvanian Mitch Lyons, the clay monoprint medium and techniques creator, passed away in early 2018. I was fortunate to learn specialized techniques from him before his passing, and now I feel passionate about helping to share his unique art form both through creating works and teaching others.
Features
Explore Andy's background in an interactive (AI) Google NotebookLM. Read preformatted material or ask questions in the chatbox at the bottom of the NotebookLM page.
Note that as this uses experimental AI technology, information can not always be assumed to be accurate.
In addition, listen to a seven-minute conversational radio segment/podcast created by AI based on information available on the platform. Listen here.
CanvasRebel offers an interview with artist and arts nonprofit supporter Andrew Smith.
"Three viable paths forward for the library towards divestment were presented by leadership, including the library funding Hanover Borough's annual deficit for the library budget, the library becoming its own independent 501(c)3, or the library becoming a branch of the York County Library system.
"It's really important to remember this is not a negative time, it's a different time, it's a time of change," said board of governors member Andrew Smith of the path forward during the meeting.
"We have to remember that we can do it, and we will do it.""
Selected as one of five of the most influential people in York County in the arts and entertainment field.
Presented the ten-minute presentation, In the Art Door, discussing the difficulty of getting audiences to attend art exhibitions internationally and at the local level.
Work Experience
Business references are available upon request — email ostman4200@comcast.net with inquiries.
Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program Navigators work with artists to successfully receive guidance and eventual grant support via the Cultural Alliance of York County.