Boats, Beasts and Beauties

I'm so happy and excited for my friend Andrew Demetrius, who is curating an amazing exhibition on the English toymaker and sculptor Sam Smith. Smith was a visionary tinkerer who specialized in wooden boats, dolls, and moving automata, always signing his creations "Sam Smith, genuine England!" If you're up in Scotland there is an ongoing show at the Scottish Fisheries Museum, and, coming soon, a related exhibition of Smith's works on paper at the University of St. Andrews. The coup of the story is that on Nov. 2 Andrew will be interviewing the legendary Ron Geesin, who composed the soundtrack for this 1976 documentary about Smith. There will be a screening of the film and a banjo performance by Geesin himself. Aaaaarghhhh wish I could be there!!!

(images via sam-smith.org)