When Brittney Smith was a freshman in high school at Air Academy High School, she had an art teacher who helped her realize that she was an artist. On the first day of ceramics class, which she was taking just to fill a credit, the teacher asked how many of them were artists. Smith didn’t raise her hand. After working on their first project, the teacher let the class know that everyone in the class was an artist because they had made something.
That was a light bulb moment for Smith.
“That teacher never told me no," she says. "He never downsized my ideas or told me my ideas were too big or too small. He always supported my ideas.”
She never forgot the lesson. After high school, she went to UCCS to study to become a dentist until she realized she wasn’t doing what she loved. She dropped out of school and in January of 2023, opened her company called Clay & Create. The Colorado Springs native is a sculptor first and a designer second. The company is built around three core values: Creating the Unimaginable, Inspiring Others, and Getting the Community Involved.
Empowering the Community
Many of Smith’s pieces involve empowering women by bringing them together to talk through issues like body image and women’s rights. Her outreach efforts happen through word of mouth. Recently, she created casts of over 70 women in an effort to talk about body image and stereotypes. The women ranged in age from 18 to over 60.
In addition to clay casting, Smith makes wearable art. All of the art materials she uses are upcycled and she says the sky is the limit when it comes to fashion. She teaches modeling and acting in Denver and created her first design collection in February.
In September, she had the opportunity to work with 17 homeless individuals and designed custom denim jackets to tell their story. She donated 25 percent of the proceeds back to the homeless community through the project. Smith hopes she will have more opportunities to get involved with the community through art.
The Artist’s Journey
Smith says the biggest thing she’s learned in this process is to trust yourself and not compare yourself with anyone else when you’re pursuing your dreams. In the future, she hopes to design her own fashion line, make sculptures that are accessible to everyone, and she wants to open her own studio.
She offers custom orders and will sculpt anything someone can imagine. Everything Smith does is inspired by something. An idea turns into a brainstorm which allows her to connect abstract ideas to concrete art creations. Her focus is on making art with meaning. She believes meaningless art is pointless art. She believes art should have a story and should inspire people.
“I hope others will be inspired to go chase their dream, whatever that may be," she says. "Don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise. Go create things that people tell you are unimaginable.”
Website: https://clayandcreate.com/
Facebook + Instagram: @clay_and_create