My name is Ella Smith and I’m from Kerry. I’m a final-year Bachelor of Education in Art & Design student in Limerick School of Art & Design as part of TUS. I’m an interdisciplinary young artist who loves working with natural materials, slow processes and anything that allows me to be hands-on and instinctive. I have exhibited in, and helped curate an interdisciplinary B.Ed group show, Tethered and Becoming, in People's Museum in Limerick in 2025.

My interests wander across art, craft, design, music, dance and language, and they all feed into each other in different ways. Being a Gaeilgeoir is a huge part of who I am. Irish isn’t just a language I speak, it’s tied into how I think, make work, tell stories, and want to teach. My first school placement was in a Gaelcholáiste, and teaching through Irish just felt right; it reminded me how naturally that part of me sits in everything I do.

A big influence on me has also been my years with Siamsa Tíre, the National Folk Theatre of Ireland. I grew up performing as part of the community cast which gave me such a strong sense of story, culture and tradition. Those experiences really shaped me in terms of the connection to place, to folklore, to the Irish language, and to the arts as a way of keeping stories alive.

And then, being from Kerry and growing up right beside the sea, I can’t help but be drawn to the elements; the openness, the wildness, the textures and rhythms of it all. 

As I finish out my degree, I’m excited to keep weaving all of this together; the nature, land, language and  processes that ground me. I wish to bring that sense of rootedness and curiosity into my teaching and my practice beyond college.