Furniture maker addresses ‘The Business of Art’

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The Bowling Green Arts Council continues its speaker series “An Evening With…” with a familiar face from the community talking about “The Business of Art.”

Ellen Fure Smith, of Little Bare Furniture, will discuss her work 6-8 p.m. Friday at Myla Marcus Winery, 133 S. Main St. Light refreshments will be served.

Fure Smith is an award-winning artist and furniture maker who has called Bowling Green home since 2013. She is a staple at the Black Swamp Arts Festival and was the designer and primary builder of the downtown parklets.

Originally from Virginia, she was majoring in Fine Arts at Marshall University in West Virginia when she discovered her love of working with her hands after taking a furniture making class.

“I never looked back,” she said. “It has been amazing to live in a community like Bowling Green where I can be an artist and have a business that lets me follow my passion.”

She has won multiple awards at the Black Swamp Arts Festival as well as awards at Toledo’s Art on the Mall, Maple on Main in Sylvania, and the NWOhio Juried exhibition. She was chosen for Raw Artists: Cincinnati.

Her work has been chosen for display in the Fuller Art Gallery in Sylvania, and the Leso Gallery, in Toledo. She was chosen to present a lecture on her work, “We Art Marshall,” celebrating the opening of the Marshall University Visual Arts Center, “Welcome to My Studio,” at Gallery 842 in Huntington, West Virginia, and in juried exhibitions in the Birke Art Gallery at Marshall University.

She has received juried awards for her sculpture and furniture as well as for her 2D designs. Her designs are found in numerous homes and private collections.

“I’m not making furniture as a carpenter—I’m making it as an artist,” Fure Smith said.

The BGAC is a volunteer organization working with local artists, arts organizations and supporters to provide inspiration, enjoyment and learning opportunities in the Bowling Green community.

More information can be found at bgartscouncil.com.

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