Tannie Smith is a multi-media artist specializing in her Inkflow style, which blends intricate and intuitive ink patterns against a minimalistic composition. Her work often explores the quiet connection between spirituality and the human experience, with a focus on women and their relationship to faith. Through contrasts of black and white, strength and vulnerability, simplicity and depth, Tannie’s art invites reflection on inner strength and resilience, offering a space for spiritual contemplation without overt religious imagery.
“I'm obsessed with finding beauty in contrasts. I love the challenge of pushing for balance in both the minimal and the complex.”
Tannie recently relocated to Helena, Montana from Austin, Texas. She holds a BFA in Communication Design from Texas State University and has over 20 years of experience in design and illustration. In Helena, she continues to explore the beauty of contrasts in her art while enjoying hiking, Korean dramas, and delicious snacks.
Statement
Tannie Smith is a mixed-media artist based in Helena, Montana, whose work is defined by intuitive intricate patterns that unify each piece. These patterns represent the individual experiences, memories, and emotions that make us unique. Her work captures the between moments that may not seem significant at first, but reveal their depth upon reflection—offering a space for emotions that are felt but not easily described. Working primarily in dip pen and ink, Smith builds these patterns line by line, with gold leaf marking moments of spiritual insight. Influenced by Art Nouveau’s intricacy and Minimalism’s simplicity, her style embraces contrasts: black and white, joy and pain, faith and doubt. From portraits to functional ceramics, her art reflects life’s contrasts, always in search of balance and meaning. At the heart of her practice is a desire to invite viewers into moments of quiet faith, reflection, and hope—spaces where they can recognize their own experiences and discover the sacred in the everyday.