Profile:  Laura Smith

     Taught to stitch by her grandmother at the age of nine, Laura Smith's early work was huck embroidery, counted cross stitch, hardanger, crochet, and beading.  In the early 1980's, she discovered the Embroiderers' Guild of America, Inc (EGA) and the American Needlepoint Guild (ANG).  Silk and metal threads, needlepoint, open canvaswork, Casalguidi embroidery, quilting and other classes followed.  In 1999, she took Mary Shipp's ANG Cybercourse on Color for Embroidery and began a journey into color and design for needlework which continues today.  She taught her first class in hardanger embroidery in 1987.

    Laura holds the Master Craftsman in Color from EGA and currently serves as Chairman of the Color Program.  She is the winner of EGA's Bobby Pilling Award for 2006 (you can see the design "Paths of Water" in the Gallery).  She juried into Fiber Forum in 2006 and again in 2009.  She has developed and taught classes that relate to color, realistic landscapes, counted thread designs, and the process of embroidery with special interest in motivation for the embroidery artist.  Her first EGA Group Correspondence Course is in piloting as of January 2010 and she is under contract for two more courses.

    Laura is founding president of Lake Norman Chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild and now serves as bylaws chairman.  She is a Life Member of EGA, past president, newsletter editor and VP Programs for Golden Needles Chapter.  She has worked as a volunteer leader in numerous capacities for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, developing an interest in landscape embroidery through hiking and outdoor Scouting activities.   

    She earned an MBA and an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has worked in technical sales and visual arts management.