Textile artist Ann Smith ’81 lives slowly, out in nature. Each morning, she leaves her Saratoga, Calif., home in search of birds. “Slow birding,” a phenomenon coined by evolutionary biologist Joan E. Strassmann, encourages people outdoors to embrace leisure and enjoy the birds around them, without an agenda. It’s a pearl of wisdom Smith has come to live by. “It’s in contrast to the kind of birding where people go out [with] a list and they’re trying to see the next big thing,” says Smith, who was recently featured in the magazine Women Create. “It’s more about being familiar with the birds in your yard, knowing about them, experiencing the joy of watching them, and the simple pleasure of that.”
When she returns from her walks near the foot of the Santa Cruz mountains, she gathers recycled scraps of fabric and uses them to create birds inspired by her travels, which she then frames or stitches on to bags, quilts, and other homegoods. She often uses methods like eco printing and adding natural dyes to further embellish the repurposed textiles. Smith’s design process is “whatever the whim of the day is, and that’s the beauty of being in retirement and being free to follow my creative impulses in whatever direction they take me,” she says.
Smith features her work on Instagram @persimmonstudioart.