Greg Smith’s practice is grounded in a longstanding fascination with the simplicity and enduring presence of carved stone, particularly the forms and traditions of stone carving across the Pacific Rim. Working primarily with the disc and the blade, Smith reduces jewellery to essential forms, allowing the material itself to become the point of expression.
His chosen material is glass, shaped through a process that begins long before the carving takes place. Smith creates blocks and forms from a diverse collection of glass accumulated over decades, combining raw glass colour, cut and arranged fragments, and Italian murrine canes made by hand in a hot glass studio. These carefully constructed blocks become the starting point for each piece.
Once formed, the glass is carved by hand using diamond tools, gradually refining the material into its final shape. The pieces are then placed in stone tumblers, where extended tumbling transforms the carved surfaces into a soft, silky matt finish. Although glass is traditionally perceived as fragile and precious, Smith’s finished pieces possess a quiet physicality more closely associated with stone.
There is also an element of time and touch embedded in the work. Like a piece of polished stone, the jewellery can be worn, handled and rubbed against the skin, allowing the surface to gradually respond to the wearer’s natural oils. Small marks accumulated through use can be gently removed and the surface restored, reinforcing the idea that these are objects intended to be lived with rather than simply preserved.
For Smith, the enduring desire to make objects in glass has kept his hand in. After a career working extensively across hot glass and kiln-formed glass, jewellery has provided a more intimate way to continue his relationship with the material. Through restraint of form and an expansive understanding of glass, he creates objects that sit somewhere between sculpture, stone and adornment.