Richard Reitz Smith

Creative Lead for custom art and design ventures, collaborations, and client-based projects. Areas of focus are book arts, design, and fine art.

Ambassador of program, courses, faculty, and organization. Created, launched, and implement online/remote education program in 2020 that quadrupled enrollment by the second year. Introduced hybrid classes to program (The Artful Book). Created and implement Destination Workshops (Nice, France - Oxford, England - Hudson Valley, NY to date). Teach most letterpress courses as well as 3-D presentation cases and paper surface workshops. Manage studio schedule and supplies/equipment. Procured Charles Brand Etching Press introducing etching processes to program. Participate in regional book fairs.

Courses lead:
Influences of the French Riviera - Size, Shape, & Color for Monoprints & Books (Destination): Lead group of 8 travelers to La Napoule, France for exploration of Matisse, Chagall, and Legére within large-format monoprints and simple book structures

An English Odyssey: Oxford England Print and Book Intensive ( Destination) -Leading a group of 8 to visit the treasures of the oldest English language universities. Private workshops and tours.

The Artful Book - Mentorship (Hybrid) - Course first meets online to create book map and then files to work out editing and sequencing issues. Then meet in-person for one-week workshops to assemble and bind.

The Art of the Book - Online workshop during COVID meeting over 15 weeks to walk participants through the design and production of creating a file for digital printing and worked directly with Conveyor Studios to set up files for their third party production.

The Creative Explored - Online workshop meeting once per week for 8 weeks to explore the book as a creative form. Weekly prompts generated unconventional 3-D creations.

Intro to Letterpress - Weekend workshop that introduces press functions and safety with the basics of handset type and press clean up.

Also: Beginning and Advanced Letterpress , Presentation Box Construction

DesignSmith Creative Ventures • Offsite Design Consultant Multi-discipline studio providing expert consultation and customized solutions for unconventional projects within brand identity, package design, letterpress & book arts, invitations & print collateral, event design, illustration and photography and web/video design. Clients have included: Graffam Solutions, Yarmouth, ME for CEI, ArchSolar, GrowSmart & more • Schooner Taber, Rockland, ME • Eastern Maine Health System Foundation, Bangor, ME • Cellardoor Winery, Lincolnville, ME • Salt Bay Chamberfest, Damariscotta, ME • University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI • SISCO, Sterling Heights, MI • Pearson Education, New York, NY • American Craft Museum, New York, NY • Kiss Cosmetics, Port Washington, NY • R.H. Macy’s & Co., New York, NY