Sally Smith: Environmental Artist

The Adirondacks are a marvelous work of nature in any season. But Derek Muirden met a woman who is not afraid to give mother nature a little boost from time to time. Sally Smith calls herself an environmental artist, but those who know Sally, and marvel at her collaborations with mother nature call her works “magical.” (Borderless North)

Smith discovered drawing at an early age, and in her later years she began creating landscapes and eventually became an illustrator. She has created art for greeting cards, puzzles, children’s books, and more! She has never had formal art lessons, but her art is astounding.

Smith enjoys hiding things in her art. In the video we see the image of a beautiful dragon, but there are multiple little scenes of other dragons and knights hidden within the dragon’s body.

One day Smith lost her inspiration, and in seeking help she was asked a question: What is the one thing she wanted to do but had not allowed herself to do or was afraid to try? Instantly she said that she wanted to work out in nature and work with nature.

One of Sally Smith's fairy houses. — One of Smith’s fairy houses. (Credit: Sally Smith)

Beginning with ice sculptures, Smith has gone on to create many interesting designs and sculptures out of common natural items. Her new artworks are composed of items found in nature, such as moss, bark, branches, fallen butterfly wings, leaves, stones…

One of Smith’s specialties is creating fairy houses. She says that while she’s out scouting she gets prompting from fairies that feels like intuition, which will lead her to the items and inspiration she needs to create her whimsical fairy houses. Some of Smith’s fairy houses are built on site and left where they are built across the Adirondacks. So keep an eye out while hiking because you never know what you may find!

Smith says that anyone create art like her, and wants to encourage people to try. Go outside, find materials, and see the patterns that you can create!

Additional Resources for Sally Smith

Find out more about via Sally Smith’s website, www.greenspiritarts.com, and her blog, greenspiritarts.blogspot.com.

About Katie Shepard

Passionate about reading and writing stories, Katie Shepard enjoys discovering more about her home while writing and editing for Essex on Lake Champlain. Katie graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2011 where she studied English literature, philosophy, and Asian studies. Her first book Essex, New York Architecture: A Doodler's Field Guide was published in 2015. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, or at Linked.in. Or email her at katie [@] essexeditions [dot] com.