- City
- Kitchener
- Booth
- Nathan Phillips Square
Booth 86
Sharl G. Smith
I am a Jamaican-born, Kitchener/Waterloo-based Canadian sculptor. I earned my Bachelor of Architecture in 2003 and spent over a decade working as a designer and architectural professional in the United States. This experience included time at a Zen Buddhist Japanese firm in California, where I was introduced to principles of mastery and care that continue to underpin my work today. In 2015, I moved to Canada and became a full-time artist and proprietor of Sun Drops Studio.
My artistic journey revolves around reimagining the ancient craft of bead-stitching, transforming it into an innovative and engaging form of public art and architecture. My practice explores the invisible networks and social infrastructure that form the foundation for building communities rooted in care and well-being. My technical process involves constructing forms that rely solely on the tension within thread networks, creating a distinctive visual language. Beadwork, a multicultural craft rooted in both Canadian and global heritage, reflects the complexities of community bonds and natural systems of growth. As a type of weaving, bead-stitching merges individual elements into a new cohesive whole. My approach, therefore, builds on historical traditions to create an experience that balances the familiar and the futuristic.
