Sharon Church (artist)

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Sharon Church
Born1948
Richland, Washington
Died2022
Alma materSkidmore College,
Rochester Institute of Technology
EmployerUniversity of the Arts
Websitewww.sharonchurchjewelry.net
External videos
video icon “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]

Early years[edit]

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]

Education[edit]

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]

Teaching[edit]

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]

Making[edit]

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]

Professional Activities[edit]

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]

Public Collections[edit]

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]

Awards and honors[edit]

  • 2018, Lifetime Achievement Award, Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG)[3]
  • 2018, Distinguished Artist, James Renwick Alliance[12]
  • 2015, “Master of American Craft”, American Craft Council.[11]
  • 2012. Elected Fellow, American Craft Council College of Fellows[14]
  • 2010, Medal of Distinction, Philadelphia Art Alliance[1]
  • 2008, Distinguished Educator Award, James Renwick Alliance[15][34]
  • 2004, Richard C. von Hess Faculty Prize, University of the Arts[35]
  • 1999, Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, University of the Arts[36]
  • 1977, Craftsmen's Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts[37]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Sharon Church". American Craft Council. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  2. ^ "Sharon Church". University of the Arts. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Mimlitsch-Gray, Myra (19 February 2018). "2018 SNAG Lifetime Achievement Award, Sharon Church". Society of North American Goldsmiths. Myra Mimlitsch-Gray. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Find a Grave Index, 1600s - Current". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Skinner-Church Wedding Announced". Newspapers.com. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Tower Hill High School Yearbook". U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900-1999. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Skinner-Church Wedding Announced". newspapers.com. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  8. ^ Mimlitsch-Gray, Myra. "2018 SNAG Lifetime Achievement Award". Society of North American Goldsmiths. Metalsmith. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  9. ^ Blauer, Ettagale (29 June 2013). Contemporary American Jewelry Design. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-1-4757-4854-3. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Earl Pardon". The Enamel Arts Foundation. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Dalton, Adriane (8 September 2016). "Sharon Church: Queen Bee". Art Jewelry Forum. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Radulescu, Adriana G (2018). "Sharon Church: Maker's Stories" (PDF). JRA Quarterly. No. Summer. James Renwick Alliance. pp. 17–18. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Sharon Church". Senior Artists Initiative. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Kern, Josh (Nov 10, 2015). "Sharon Church". CraftNOW Philadelphia. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "Masters: Sharon Church". American Craft Magazine. American Craft Council. September 17, 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  16. ^ Koplos, Janet; Metcalf, Bruce (31 July 2010). Makers: A History of American Studio Craft. Univ of North Carolina Press. pp. 458–459. ISBN 978-0-8078-9583-2. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  17. ^ "It Was the Most Beautiful Day of the Summer". The Center for Art in Wood. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  18. ^ Shaykett, Jessica (July 31, 2014). "Sharon Church's Summer Soliloquy". American Craft Council. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  19. ^ "It Was the Most Beautiful Day of the Summer". American Craft Council Digital Archive.
  20. ^ "Empress". Yale University Art Gallery. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  21. ^ Storb, Christopher (30 September 2016). "Yale University Art Gallery". In Proportion to the Trouble. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Brooch: Persephone's Bouquet". The Met. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Beaded Collar". Museum of Arts and Design. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Beaded Collar". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  25. ^ "Hearts and Flowers". Art Jewelry Forum. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  26. ^ "Sharon Church work acquired by Pinakothek der Moderne's Danner Foundation". Sienna Patti - Contemporary Studio Artists. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  27. ^ Bell, Robert (2005). Transformations : the language of craft. Canberra, A.C.T.: National Gallery of Australia. ISBN 0642541388. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Sharon Church "Envy" Neckpiece". The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  29. ^ Fulk, Marion (9 February 2015). "Helen Drutt: The State Hermitage Museum Exhibition". Art Jewelry Forum. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  30. ^ "'Scatter Pins'". LACMA Collections. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  31. ^ Church, Sharon. "Collections". Philamuseum.org. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  32. ^ Church, Sharon. "Hand Whip, 1976". emuseum.delart.org. Delaware Art Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  33. ^ Savig, Mary; Atkinson, Nora; Montiel, Anya (2022). This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World. Washington, DC: Smithsonian American Art Museum. pp. 228–238. ISBN 9781913875268.
  34. ^ "Kestenbaum, Church, and Rice Honored as Distinguished Educators". James Renwick Alliance Quarterly. No. WINTER. 2008. p. 9. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  35. ^ 126th Commencement. Philadelphia, PA: The University of the Arts. May 20, 2004.
  36. ^ The University of the Arts Commencement May 20, 1999. Philadelphia, PA: The University of the Arts. May 20, 1999.
  37. ^ Biddle, Livingston L. Jr., ed. (1978). Annual Report 1977 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: National Endowment for the Arts. p. 129. Retrieved 30 December 2021.

External links[edit]

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