Sharon Church | |
---|---|
Born | 1948 |
Died | 2022 |
Alma mater |
Skidmore College, Rochester Institute of Technology |
Employer | University of the Arts |
Website |
www |
External videos | |
---|---|
“2012 American Craft Council Fellow: Sharon Church” |
Sharon Church (born 1948; died 2022) was an American studio jeweler, metalsmith, and educator. She is a professor emerita of the University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2012, Church was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council (ACC). [1] [2] In 2018, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of North American Goldsmiths. [3]
Sharon Church was born in 1948 in Richland, Washington [1] to Gilbert Patterson Church [4] and Winona Skinner. [5] Church grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, graduating from the Tower Hill School, Class of 1966. [6] Her father was a construction engineer for DuPont Co, [7] and she recalls growing up watching her mother doing craft work and wearing jewelry. [8]
In 1970, Church earned a B.S. from Skidmore College, where she was a student of Earl Pardon. [9] [10] She began working with wood while at Skidmore College. [11] She was encouraged to be a carver and work substractively as a student of Albert Paley during her first year at graduate school. [11] [12] Church earned an M.F.A. from The School for American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1973. [13]
In 1979 Church moved from Wilmington, Delaware, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to begin teaching at the Philadelphia College of Art (later Craft + Material Studies program at University of the Arts (Philadelphia)). [14] [15] After 35 years, she retired in 2014, becoming professor emerita. [14] [3]
“I really believe craft has within it the key to valuing a human life,” she says. “To make something with your hands, to know that you exist, to see that that existence has value – even for someone who just likes doing it, it has enormous value.” Sharon Church [15]
Sharon Church is known for carving materials like wood, horn, and bone and sometimes incorporating them into works with precious metals and stones. [1] [16] She often uses Castello boxwood or ebony. [11] Church often begins with a drawing, but does not plan out the entire piece. She slowly develops her pieces through trial and error, experimenting with processes, techniques and materials until she feels a piece is complete. If she cannot resolve a piece, she may put it away, discard it or reclaim the materials. [11] [12]
She draws heavily on nature both as a model and for materials. [11] Following the death of her first husband in 1993, Church began to make carved wood a key element of her jewelry and sculptures. Her first piece in this style, It was the Most Beautiful Day of the Summer (1995), resembles both a fox's head and a cloven heart, in gold and ebony. [14] [17] [18] [19]
Church has served on the board of directors of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (1983-1987). She has been the production coordinator for Metalsmith magazine (1986-1987) and served on its editorial advisory committee. She has written for Metalsmith and other magazines. She is a member of the American Craft Council and of Art Jewelry Forum. [3]
Church's work is included in the permanent collections of the Yale University Art Gallery; [20] [21] Metropolitan Museum of Art; [22] Museum of Arts and Design, New York City; [23] Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; [24] [25] Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany; [26] National Gallery of Australia; [27] Museum of Fine Arts Houston; [28] State Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg, Russia; [29] Los Angeles County Museum of Art; [30] Philadelphia Museum of Art; [31] and the Delaware Art Museum. [32] Her work, Oh No!, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign. [33]
Sharon Church | |
---|---|
Born | 1948 |
Died | 2022 |
Alma mater |
Skidmore College, Rochester Institute of Technology |
Employer | University of the Arts |
Website |
www |
External videos | |
---|---|
“2012 American Craft Council Fellow: Sharon Church” |
Sharon Church (born 1948; died 2022) was an American studio jeweler, metalsmith, and educator. She is a professor emerita of the University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2012, Church was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council (ACC). [1] [2] In 2018, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of North American Goldsmiths. [3]
Sharon Church was born in 1948 in Richland, Washington [1] to Gilbert Patterson Church [4] and Winona Skinner. [5] Church grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, graduating from the Tower Hill School, Class of 1966. [6] Her father was a construction engineer for DuPont Co, [7] and she recalls growing up watching her mother doing craft work and wearing jewelry. [8]
In 1970, Church earned a B.S. from Skidmore College, where she was a student of Earl Pardon. [9] [10] She began working with wood while at Skidmore College. [11] She was encouraged to be a carver and work substractively as a student of Albert Paley during her first year at graduate school. [11] [12] Church earned an M.F.A. from The School for American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1973. [13]
In 1979 Church moved from Wilmington, Delaware, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to begin teaching at the Philadelphia College of Art (later Craft + Material Studies program at University of the Arts (Philadelphia)). [14] [15] After 35 years, she retired in 2014, becoming professor emerita. [14] [3]
“I really believe craft has within it the key to valuing a human life,” she says. “To make something with your hands, to know that you exist, to see that that existence has value – even for someone who just likes doing it, it has enormous value.” Sharon Church [15]
Sharon Church is known for carving materials like wood, horn, and bone and sometimes incorporating them into works with precious metals and stones. [1] [16] She often uses Castello boxwood or ebony. [11] Church often begins with a drawing, but does not plan out the entire piece. She slowly develops her pieces through trial and error, experimenting with processes, techniques and materials until she feels a piece is complete. If she cannot resolve a piece, she may put it away, discard it or reclaim the materials. [11] [12]
She draws heavily on nature both as a model and for materials. [11] Following the death of her first husband in 1993, Church began to make carved wood a key element of her jewelry and sculptures. Her first piece in this style, It was the Most Beautiful Day of the Summer (1995), resembles both a fox's head and a cloven heart, in gold and ebony. [14] [17] [18] [19]
Church has served on the board of directors of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (1983-1987). She has been the production coordinator for Metalsmith magazine (1986-1987) and served on its editorial advisory committee. She has written for Metalsmith and other magazines. She is a member of the American Craft Council and of Art Jewelry Forum. [3]
Church's work is included in the permanent collections of the Yale University Art Gallery; [20] [21] Metropolitan Museum of Art; [22] Museum of Arts and Design, New York City; [23] Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; [24] [25] Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany; [26] National Gallery of Australia; [27] Museum of Fine Arts Houston; [28] State Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg, Russia; [29] Los Angeles County Museum of Art; [30] Philadelphia Museum of Art; [31] and the Delaware Art Museum. [32] Her work, Oh No!, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign. [33]