Janice Smith

{{short description|American woodworker and furniture maker (born 20th century}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Janice Smith

| birth_date = 20th century

| birth_place =

| alma_mater = Virginia Commonwealth University (BFA 1976), Rhode Island School of Design (MFA 1981)

| occupation = Furniture maker, woodworker, sculptor, educator

| known_for = Furniture design

| movement = American studio furniture

| website = {{url|janicesmithfurniture.com}}

| image = File:Making a Seat at the Table Panel Discussion.jpg

| caption = Janice Smith speaking on a panel about Women's Woodworking at the American Craft Council Conference in Philadelphia.

}}

Janice Smith (born 20th century) is an American furniture maker and educator, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Early life and education

Smith took a women's wood-shop class in high school and became hooked on woodworking. She attended Virginia Commonwealth University, located in Richmond, Virginia, and studied under furniture maker Alphonse Mattia. She later attended the Rhode Island School of Design, located in Providence, Rhode Island, studying furniture making under Tage Frid.{{Cite web|url=http://www.janicesmithfurniture.com/about.html|title=About Janice|website=www.janicesmithfurniture.com|access-date=2019-10-17}} Smith is a member of the The Furniture Society and was an early artist involved with the American studio furniture movement.{{Cite web|url=https://furnsoc.org/directory/janice-smith|title=Janice Smith|publisher= The Furniture Society |language=en|access-date=2019-10-17}}

Art and design career

After graduating college in 1981 she worked for a small furniture maker and then a Rhode Island boat builder. Eventually, she started her own furniture making business creating custom furniture. Today, she continues to run a business, working alongside her husband, Reuben Wade, to design and build interiors and commercial remodeling.{{Cite web|url=https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/innovative-approaches-to-furniture-janice-smith/|title=Innovative Approaches to Furniture: Janice Smith|date=2001-01-30|website=Woodworking {{!}} Blog {{!}} Videos {{!}} Plans {{!}} How To|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-17}}

In her work, Smith uses sculptural forms and aims to engage the viewer in all three dimensions, creating work that is both functional and exciting. Her work is dynamic, often geometric and angular or with sweeping lines and curves. In her furniture work, Smith uses Italian-made composite veneered plywood. To create thickness and dimension in her work, she often uses torsion boxes – hollow structures with a frame-like core and a plywood "skin", veneered to look solid.

The financial freedom from teaching at the University of Kansas, located in Lawrence, Kansas, allowed her to explore new directions with her work.

Smith's work has been featured in Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia and galleries and exhibitions across the country.{{Cite web|url=http://inspiration.furnsoc.org/tag/birch-and-birch-plywood-with-italo-pearl-composite-veneer-fabric-design-by-cynthia-schira/|title=Birch and birch plywood with "Italo Pearl" composite veneer. Fabric design by Cynthia Schira {{!}} The Furniture Society|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-17}}

Teaching

Smith taught industrial and interior design full-time at the University of Kansas from 1992 to 1998.{{Cite journal|date=January 1986|title=A Sculptors Tale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLlWAAAAMAAJ&q=janice+smith+furniture|journal= Fine Woodworking |volume=36|pages=98}} She has taught part-time at Bucks County Community College, Moore College of Art and Design, and Drexel University.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/46713280|title=The Custom Furniture Source Book: A Guide to 125 Craftsmen|last=Pierce, Kerry.|date=2001|publisher= Taunton Press|isbn=1561584312|location=Newtown, CT|oclc=46713280}}{{Cite web|url=http://ac.bucks.edu/apps/directory/profile/350/|title=Janice Smith {{!}} Directory {{!}} Bucks County Community College|website=ac.bucks.edu|access-date=2019-10-17}} She also has taught carpentry to Philadelphia youth through the Mural Arts' Restorative Justice program.{{Cite web|url=http://familyinterruptedproject.com/topics/progress/|title=Mural Progress {{!}} Family Interrupted Project|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-17}}

At the American Craft Council conference held in Philadelphia in 2019, Smith spoke on a panel about women in woodworking hosted by Jennifer-Navva Milliken alongside woodworkers Laura Mays, Meg Bye, Emily Bunker, Fo Wilson (also known as Folayemi Wilson), and Sarah Marriage of A Workshop of Our Own.