I have had a pencil, paintbrush or crayon in my hand since I can remember-- or at least since the first grade when I made a picture of my brother Robert in oil pastels.  Smithfield has been my home for over ten years while I taught art to high school and middle school students, started a pasta business, helped run farmers markets, and had my son Linus.  Now it is home to La Capretta.  I make art with clay, watercolors, acrylics, and other materials that inspire some fluid shape to dance in my head.  I love to do this with other people, and so La Capretta has become a home for visiting artists and an apprentice.  I welcome creative and motivated diletants of all ages to come for a visit, walk through the fields and see what alights on their canvas.

Originially from Des Moines, IA and a recent graduate from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN, Lynsi was here for the summer and fall of 2009 and will return late January 2010. She helped create the garden and nannied Nancy's four-year-old son, Linus, while making ceramics work in the studio. She wood fired with Mizue Croswell and helped Joy Bridy with the early stages of building her wood kiln. While dabbling in functional pottery, Lynsi's focus has more recently been in sculpture. She plans to explore her own style and develop her skills in clay while here at La Capretta.

Water Garden by family friend Hoff Lindberg

The idea for visiting artists at Smithfield germinated over several conversations with friends, family and farm apprentices.  People have come and gone from Smithfield since 1824-- the manor house continues to house guests as a B&B.  Between 1988 and 1999 while the main house and farm were revived from over 40 years of neglect, a steady stream of people (professionals, family and friends) traipsed across this land to mold it into its current shape.  In 2005 we began to host interns and apprentices to help with the growing enterprise of Smith Meadows. 

With La Capretta this process is evolving toward a model such as  Art Farm in Nebraska. With the preservation of the land at Smithfield comes the responsibility to create a renewable relationship through thought and creation---not just good food and an elegant place to rest one's head.  Toward this end an invitation is extended to artists, philosophers and craftspeople to add to this heritage in ways that benefit the host and the guest.   

Follow the growing list of contributors as our project matures.