At the nation's art fairs you know you will find talented woodworkers who carve, turn, inlay and sculpt with amazingly beautiful woods gathered from nearby woodlots or hunted down across the globe. Archie Smith not only employs all those exacting technical skills he also turns his wood pieces into "sculptural-functional" instruments.
These are museum quality instruments in which the visual beauty of the wood, the haunting sound of the strings, and the subtle feel of the vibration wood combine to offer multi-sensory stimulation.
The mountain dulcimer is an authentic American instrument, developed in the Southern Appalachian Mountains by the Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled there in the eighteenth century.
The mountain dulcimer is an authentic American instrument, developed in the Southern Appalachian Mountains by the Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled there in the eighteenth century.
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Maple dulcimer with Black Walnut shell soundholes
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In the tradition of the fine Old World craftsmen, he alone handcrafts each of the instruments with contemporary combinations of woods that create a modern rendering that draws from ancient roots.
And you can learn to play one at your next art fair! Archie will show you how! Meet him soon at an art fair near you, including Week One in the Contemporary Crafts section of the fabulous New Orleans Jazz Festival, April 27-29.
Learn more about Archie Smith who went from college professor to instrument maker: www.ArtFairCalendar.com/featuredartist
Comments
Hello Archie...! Good to see you at the Jazz Fest.
It was great to see Archie at the Woodlands Waterway Festival. He's a great guy and an inspiration, especially for his fellow woodworkers.
I really look forward to seeing Archie at the Jazz Fest. His work is amazing to say the least..
Carol and I have a booth in the Contemporary section so he will be one of our neighbor artists
Stunning work...I love it.
He work is amazing! I am so glad that he was able to recover and get back to making these beautiful pieces.
This is great news, Connie! Archie is as fine a Southern gentleman as one could ever hope to met. I'm so glad he is creating his beautiful musical instruments again!
Archie suffered a crippling accident in August but has really battled back and is out creating and doing art fairs once again. Learn more here: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/it-finally-happened
and here: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/update-on-it-finally-...
When I spoke to him he emphasized to me how much he appreciated all the support from the art fair community, all of the artists, many who were strangers to him, and how he could never repay all the kindnesses he received after his accident. He asked that I pass that message on to all of you.