Exhibit through December 11 at Grace Albrecht Art Gallery 

FROM FACEBOOK__The new art installation at Bluffton University's Sauder Visual Arts Center (S. Spring St.) is "On Soft Ground" by artist and metalsmith Rachel Suzanne Smith.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Rachel Suzanne Smith’s work reflects themes of identity and ornament, focusing specifically on the desire to connect with the outdoors and nature. Facilitating that need occurs through adornment, allowing the wearer to surround themselves with arrangements and clusters of plants.

The wearable sculptures Smith creates serve as a form of self-expression rooted in the biophilia hypothesis that all humans yearn to connect with nature and other life forms.

Utilizing CAD/CAM and digital fabrication tools and techniques, Smith replicates, reviews, revisits and reworks designs to dig deeper into these ideas and themes from different angles.