Linda A. Smith, the jewelry artist who is the creative force
behind the jewelry on this site, has been working with beads
and collecting new and old jewelry since her teenage years.
Its only since September of 1999, however, that she turned her
hand to more serious jewelry making in the form of wire jewelry
design.
Originally self taught in her jewelry, Linda has found inspiration
from many online jewelry professionals such as Preston Reuther
and Eni Oken and has more recently studied under nationally
known artists such as Connie Fox, Dale "Cougar" Armstrong,
Arlene Hildebrand, Jack Berry and Robbie "Metallique"
Ward, as well as Arlene Fisch, author of "Textile Techniques
in Metal"
In 2003, she took first place in the Creative Wire Jewelry
Winter Blues Swap, an international art jewelry challenge, with
her original piece Blue
Wails.
Linda is a juried and charter member of the International Guild
of Wire Jewelry Artists which was established in 2005 and was
accepted in 2006 as an artist member of the Craftsmen's Guild
of Pittsburgh . She has written jewelry tutorials for Step By
Step Wire Jewelry, June 2005 issue and Dec.
2005 online tutorial as well as for Reuther's online web
site. She has begun a Resources pages on her own site with hints,
tips and links to help other artists learn this craft.
Linda speaks at public events and teaches classes locally in
the western Pennsylvania. Private lessons on wire work and jewelry
making classes are available at her Facets of Light Studio in
Bridgewater, PA.
Selections of her work have been on display at Marshall Gallery,
Greensboro NC.and Spa Uptown, Pittsburgh, PA. Currently, her
jewelry collection can be seen at her studio in Bridgewater,
PA, at Windows on Seventh at Montefior Hospital and at the shows
she will participate in for 2008.
She takes her jewelry to shows throughout the year, including
Garrison Day in Beaver, The Holly and the Ivy in Embassy Suites,
Moon Township, A Fair in the Park in Mellon Park in Pittsburgh
and Youngstown University's Summer Arts Festival as well as
Butler Museum of Art Christmas show, also at YSU.
Linda has a varied creative background which includes theatrical
roles in high school, college and community theater, as well
as co-direction and stage management. Her poetic, creative and
journalistic writings have been published in the Beaver County
Times, Valley Tribune and college literary magazine. While attending
her alma mater, Penn State, she was a page editor and feature
columnist for the Penn State Beaver Herald.
Married to her "H" and the mother of two married
children, Linda was owned and managedSmithcraft, a graphics
shop, for 23 years before selling it in December 2005 to continue
her jewelry full time.As the owner of that company, in 1993,
she won the Marking Industry Bantamweight Dealer of the Year
for outstanding sales growth; in 1998, she won the Ben Franklin
award for entrepreneurship; and in 2002, her shop earned a Main
Street commendation for historical facade improvement.
Online in chats and jewelry forums, Linda is known as Sorcie.