Summary
Smote is a nonbinary creator with a love of axolotls, plants, and tea! An Ohio Native, they attended Kent State University where they received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking, a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication Design, and a minor in Photo-Illustration in 2015. After this they began attending Syracuse University where they worked on the creation of the 2016 Salt City Dozen juried portfolio and accompanying website, printed under Art Werger and Koichi Yamamoto with Lake Effect Editions, worked as a monitor in the print studio and fabrication lab, and assisted with teaching multiple printmaking courses. They graduated in 2020 with their Masters in Library & Information Science while continuing their work with library makerspaces and creative programming.
Smote’s work has been shown in several galleries and exhibitions including Baton Rouge Gallery, Summit Artspace Gallery, the GAR Foundation, ASM International, and Zygote Press. Their work has been published in The Hand Magazine, the artist collective, Ghostbook, and the charity artbook, COLORS Project and has been purchased by private collectors and public institutions. They continue to teach papermaking, printmaking, digital art, and design in both private and public capacities.
SplitGillStudio was founded in 2021 as an integration of Smote's multidisciplinary works, drawing on their background in fine arts and design to provide a diverse mix of artistry to enjoy. The studio name is a tribute to Smote's first axolotl, Tamago, who has five branched gills on his left side.
Skills
Software proficiency
