Jessica Shannon-Smith has been creating art in various forms since early childhood. She graduated from Dartmouth High School in 1988 after exhausting every art class they had available. She graduated with a BA in fine arts from Providence College in 1992 with a concentration in Photography and a minor in Art History. Since then her work has gravitated toward natural materials, textiles, and fibers, culminating in a passion for basket design.

In basketry, she explores both traditional and non-traditional design, learning from centuries of predecessors and then altering their ideas to make each piece uniquely her own. Her choices of materials are also both traditional and non-traditional whether it be reed, sisal, and hemp or paper, wire, and yarn. Additionally, she explores creative use of color by dying all her materials herself. She takes great pride in the care and attention to detail that goes into each piece.

Her studio, Park Street Studios, is located in a private home. She is showing at NBOS for the first time this year thanks to the gracious offer of artist Benares Angeley to share her studio space at 419 Sawyer Street.

Jessica Shannon-Smith is a member of The Northeast Basketmakers Guild.
Her work is available online exclusively at: www.parkstreetstudios.etsy.com