Professor of Blacksmithing and Metalsmithing

Artist & Educator

Rick Smith is Professor of Blacksmithing and Metalsmithing in the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He was awarded the L. Brent Kington Chair in Blacksmithing in 2006 and currently holds the endowed chair, reflecting a longstanding commitment to the strength and continuity of blacksmithing education.

An SIU MFA graduate, Smith joined the faculty in 1997 and has spent nearly three decades teaching blacksmithing and metalsmithing while maintaining an active studio, research, exhibition, and professional practice.

Smith’s creative work is rooted in forged metal and material experimentation. His areas of specialization include large-scale forge welding, diffusion bonding, specialized patinas, laminated and patterned metals, and the integration of forged metal with other materials. His current research also revisits SIU’s important role in the American history of mokume-gane, a traditional Japanese diffusion-bonded layered-metal technique that was extensively researched, taught, and advanced at SIU as the process became established in the United States.

Collections

Smith’s work is represented in major museum collections across the United States, including:

The Mint Museum, Charlotte
Metal Museum, Memphis
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock
Racine Art Museum, Racine
Asheville Art Museum, Asheville
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis
John and Robyn Horn Collection

His work in the John and Robyn Horn Collection is documented in Living With Form: The Horn Collection of Contemporary Crafts and has subsequently been represented in museum exhibitions.

Exhibitions & International Practice

Smith has an extensive national and international record as an artist, educator, and invited presenter. His work and professional activities have taken him throughout the United States and to the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, Japan, Korea, Estonia, and Australia.

Internationally, Smith has lectured and demonstrated at Tokyo University of the Arts and Kobe Design University in Japan and presented at universities and professional metals institutions in Korea. He was invited as a Master Metalsmith by the Artist Blacksmith Association of New South Wales in Australia, where he conducted a weeklong workshop.

Smith has served as an artist-in-residence and visiting professor at the University of Gothenburg’s Steneby School in Sweden, where he taught workshops, participated in critiques, lectured, and exhibited his work. His international activity has also included the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn and long-term collaborations involving Steneby, Hereford College of Arts, SIU, and other international metals programs.

His work was selected for FORGE, an international invitational exhibition of contemporary forged metalwork that traveled through the Ruthin Craft Centre in Wales, Hereford College of Arts in England, FeRRUM in Austria, and the Metal Museum in Memphis.

In 2023, Smith was an invited presenter at the XXV Biennale Europea d’Arte Fabbrile in Stia, Italy, a major international gathering in the blacksmithing field, and participated in a collaborative project with internationally recognized smiths representing architectural, sculptural, and craft traditions.

In 2007, Smith served as the sole American master smith representative at the Friendship Through Iron Conference in England, working alongside master smiths from more than 20 countries on the collaborative Pillar of Friendship project.

Teaching & Professional Leadership

Before joining SIU, Smith was an Artist in Residence at Penland School of Craft, where he later served as Metals and Jewelry Coordinator and Iron and Sculpture Coordinator. He has returned to Penland repeatedly as an instructor, visiting artist, demonstrator, and featured Master Metalsmith.

Smith has also taught repeatedly at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine and served on its Board of Directors and Executive Council. His professional leadership includes more than a decade of service on the Board of Directors and Executive Council of the Metal Museum in Memphis.

His teaching and invited professional activity have also included West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham, England; Hereford College of Arts; Seoul National University and other Korean universities; the Estonian Academy of Arts; and universities, craft schools, conferences, and professional organizations throughout the United States.

Smith’s work has been featured in books and professional publications in the United States and abroad. In 2013, Germany’s Metal Design International devoted an extensive chapter to his work, with Smith the only American artist included in that edition.

His expertise has also reached audiences well beyond the metals field. Smith appeared twice on the History Channel series Modern Marvels. He was the primary historical consultant and a principal figure in the 2003 episode Metal, portions of which were filmed in SIU’s blacksmithing studio, and was invited back as a historical consultant for the 2006 episode Heavy Metal.

Teaching & Alumni Outcomes

Smith’s teaching combines rigorous technical development with the cultivation of an individual artistic practice and preparation for professional life. Graduates who have studied under his direction have gone on to careers in higher education, museums and craft institutions, independent studios, architectural metalwork, sculpture, and professional blacksmithing.

Adam Hawk – Associate Professor and Program Director of Blacksmithing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Daniel Randall – Associate Professor of Metals at Tennessee Tech University
Patrick Quinn – Executive Director of the Center for Metal Arts in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Andrew Meers – American Bladesmithing Society Master Smith, independent studio artist, and former artist-in-residence at the Metal Museum and Penland School of Craft
Eric Cuper – founder of Cuper Studios, with a professional practice in architectural, functional, sculptural, and commissioned forged metalwork
Stephen Yusko – independent studio artist with extensive exhibition activity and professional service

Program Development & Student Opportunities

Smith has played a significant role in expanding opportunities for students throughout SIU’s School of Art and Design, and more specifically within Blacksmithing and Metalsmithing.

He helped secure major Windgate-supported scholarship and research endowments for the School of Art and Design. The scholarship endowment supports undergraduate and graduate students through opportunities such as workshops, conferences, and professional development, while the research endowment extends support for research to undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, and faculty.

His fundraising and program-development efforts have also helped bring hundreds of thousands of dollars in external and university matching support to Blacksmithing and Metalsmithing, doubling the size of the studio and supporting specialized equipment, tools, research resources, and expanded student workspace. The expanded studio includes highly specialized equipment not commonly available in university metals programs, including machinery sourced internationally to support advanced forging and fabrication processes.

Within Blacksmithing and Metalsmithing, Smith has helped establish international exchanges and professional collaborations connecting SIU with institutions including the University of Gothenburg’s Steneby School in Sweden, Hereford College of Arts in the United Kingdom, and the Estonian Academy of Arts. These relationships have supported exchanges, visiting artists, exhibitions, lectures, critiques, and broader international engagement for the program.

The program also benefits from an established endowed award providing financial support to MFA students upon completion of their degrees.