Southern Indiana Living Magazine - Jan / Feb 2023

of Smith’s art for decades. She explained
her use of them: “Works of
art that have meant the most to me
have addressed the unseen, the mystery
that is life. Because ritual objects
are evocative of unseen power, they
aid in tapping into that quality. All of
my work is grounded in an ongoing
exploration of the juncture between
ritual and nature.”
Her 2017 painting Rainforest
is inspired by medieval illuminated
manuscripts (handmade books, usually
on Christian Scripture or practice,
that were illustrated with art and
images so that the largely illiterate
population of the period could understand
their message). The images
in these medieval manuscripts were
simplified and stylized to convey a
meaning or moral message. The decoration
often included small paintings
(miniatures) and elaborate borders.
Profuse animal forms and foliage often
lurked in the margins. They were
almost always decorated with precious
metals, usually gold leaf.
Smith has used these manuscripts
as a reference to quietly convey
her intense feelings about the
importance of preserving the earth’s
rainforests. The center segment of
her painting, with its varied shades
of green, mosaic of vegetation and
interlacing vines, conveys a sense
of the complex connections and dynamic
relationships of this ancient
ecosystem. The border around the
forest, consisting of miniatures of colorful
wildlife, is a text on the unique
biodiversity and treasures found in
a rainforest. The four corners of the
painting feature the toucan, the coatimundi,
the honey creeper and ocelot,
all threatened by the degradation of
their habitat. Rare orchids are interlaced
throughout the outside border.
Smith’s Rainforest, mostly in acrylic,
is also illuminated with metal leaf.
The quiet intensity of Smith, as
she pursues her artistic aims and personal
vision, is a quality that emerged
when she was a child. She remembers
pressing her crayons hard against the
paper to make the colors deeper and
stronger. “I was so caught up in making
art that my mother secretly visited
my art teacher to see if I should be redirected.
I found out about that years
later. But I was always encouraged by
teachers and parents,” she said.
Smith received a master’s degree
in painting from Illinois State University,
worked as a fine art professor at
Bellarmine University and has exhibited
her work throughout the United
States. Her work is represented in
permanent collections throughout
the region, including the Kentucky
Center for the Arts. She has lived in
Corydon with her husband, Patrick
Thompson, for 42 years. •
Pictured: (opposite) Wendi’s painting, Green. Acrylic on wood panel with ritual stick;
(this page, from top right, clockwise) Wendi in front of her studio; Smith’s artwork, Wishbone
Relliquary, part of Elegy exhibit. The objects are inside the box and the paintings are
outside; Smith’s painting, Owl Triptych, acrylic on wood panels with ritual stick; Wendi’s
painted shrine, Missal.
“We keep our treasures in boxes and vaults.
Natural treasures are often seen as less valuable
– something our eyes pass over without thought
– because they are so accessible. Placing them
in closed shrines changes the perception.”
- Wendi Smith
Southern Indiana Living • Jan/Feb 2023 • 23