Artist Profile

Susan Sharman Profile Photo

Susan Sharman

The Daily Fabric

I embraced the textile medium over two decades ago when I inherited a box of old family photos along with a treasure trove of linens. Through these items I began to contemplate the daily lives of my ancestors. Letters written, photographs taken, ephemera kept–wrapped in yellowed and brittle tissue–were but brief snippets of how they spent their time. A window was opened to have a conversation with my history.

As I continue to dig deeper, I discover more connections with ancestors who expressed their love for nature and the outdoors. I am excited by this—a snapshot taken in front of a now extinct glacier, a note about wearing the right hiking boots and pressed flowers, now dry and devoid of their original color. All these “finds” show me a life lived out of doors, an interest I share, and it gives me permission to continue the series with renewed focus on that which inspires me: Nature and the environment.

My work in the studio occurs in, around and during my day-to-day routines. The daily fabric of my life creeps into the work, informing and inspiring the imagery: My voracious reading habit, bees humming, busy in my garden. Botanical shapes, textures and colors that I see while gardening or out on a daily walk, through urban or wild areas. Although there are stories and concepts that I pursue, I also allow room for the narrative to take its own direction.

Currently, my work explores the natural world, my place in it and my feelings about the continued degradation of our environment from the collapse of bee colonies to the pollution of the very earth that we stand upon. Through the work I create I hope to engage the viewer and encourage the idea that we need to slow down, look and see, the tiny bee, the small leaf, the moist earth, and protect what sustains and nurtures us.

I work in series, exploring an idea or medium. As I investigate a concept, my work often overlaps from one series to another, and I may put a direction aside for a while, only to find that I have more to say and then I begin, again.

Exhibitions:
2017 REFUGE, a 2-person exhibit, Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, Lafayette, CA
2016 The Daily Fabric, Marilyn Citron O'Rourke Art Gallery, Benicia, CA
2002 Needleworks, University of San Francisco Library, San Francisco, CA

Group Exhibitions:
2016 Paper, Toby's Feed Barn Gallery, Pt. Reyes Station, CA
2016 Family Portraits, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
2015 Artsbenicia members exhibition, Benicia, CA
2014 Bay Area Women Artists, O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
2014 n(collage), Petaluma Arts Center, Petaluma, CA
2014 Decatur Fine Arts Exhibition, Dalton Gallery, Atlanta, Ga
2013 Small Works Small Space, Wounded General Store, Inverness Park, CA (Curated by Inez Storer)
2012 Her Stories: Personal Collaborations, San Pablo Gallery, San Pablo, CA
2012 WordPlay, Studio Quercus, Oakland, CA
2010 Green: Member’s Showcase, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
2010 Madame Lucretia, Studio Quercus, Oakland, CA
2010 from the tongue, Lotus Salon/34 North Moore Exhibition Space, Manhattan, NY
2010 The Guitar Show, Studio Quercus, Oakland, CA
2008 Local Voices, The Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
2007 Commons, Thoreau Center, San Francisco, CA
2005 Contemporary Perspectives, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Rosa, CA
2000 Open Studios, San Francisco, CA
2000 Second Wednesday Salon Show, Place Pigalle, San Francisco, CA
1996 East Bay Printmakers, Alta Bates Community Gallery, Berkeley, CA

Education
1984 BFA (with distinction), Printmaking, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rohrs, Sarah, Mixed Media Collage Series, Benicia Magazine, September, 2016
Hatch, Hannah, Artists of the Week, Martinez Tribune, April 8, 2016
Kaufmann, Obi, The Mighty Word, East Bay Express, May 9, 2012
De Jesus, Janice, Listening To Local Voices, Contra Costa Times, July, 2008

My Artwork

We've Come Undone

Susan Sharman

Singing

Susan Sharman

Queen Bee

Susan Sharman

Mother Nature

Susan Sharman

Bee Whisperer

Susan Sharman

Parrots Beak

Susan Sharman