William Smith

William Smith received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with an emphasis in printmaking from Sonoma State University, CA. in 1996. As an undergraduate student at SSU, he collaborated with many artists as a printer and technician at Aurobora Press, in San Francisco and independently around the Bay Area.  In 1998, he received his Master of Fine Arts Degree from West Virginia University.

After completing his graduate studies, he returned to California where he continued to work at Aurobora Press and teach part-time at Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College. He has taught drawing, figure drawing, foundations courses in design and color theory as well as printmaking. William believes the relationship between teacher and student is mutually beneficial in that they are both sharing and learning from each other’s experiences. He takes great pride in helping students to express themselves through art. His role is that of navigator, collaborating with students as they develop stronger skills and greater confidence within their artistic voice.

In 2015 and 2016, He started a series of three live t-shirt printing events titled “Wil Smith’s Fresh Prints”.  The first event featured himself. The next two featured one guest artist. These were all-day events printing on t-shirts from hand-carved linoleum blocks. 2023 saw the return of this event with Wil and five guest artists. The next “Fresh Prints” event will take place in the spring of 2024.

William Smith still teaches part time at Santa Rosa Junior College while making, showing and promoting his art and the work of other artists in his community.