MERRITT — It is said that the beauty of art is in the ‘eyes of the beholder’.
Sharon Pawliuk says “It’s not for us to criticize ourselves, we should simply enjoy doing what we are doing and strive to improve. That sounds great, right? But it’s really easier said than done and I have experienced this many times myself over the years.”
Sharon’s art beginnings included macrame, weaving, and jewellery before she spent a lot of time with pottery and now has finally arrived at enjoying creating art with stained glass.
As with most artists, she began by exploring in her early teen years and by 1976 had discovered the pleasure of working with earthly clay.
Sharon was a member of the Prince George Potters Guild and spent many hours there creating her pieces in her own art world.
When she moved to Merritt she discovered that there wasn’t any place for her to fire and glaze her work, so she felt a little lost.
Kekuli Cafe/Art Gallery | Zach Amin Photography
But the art world takes care of their own and 8 years ago, a friend introduced her to the art of stained glass.
Sharon really enjoyed seeing the instant product, compared to waiting through the stages required for pottery to develop and began experimenting with different colours and shapes.
She finds inspiration searching the internet, looking at all forms of art and drawings to find ideas that speak to her and then works at creating a pattern to make it her own.
“Sometimes I just dig into my bin of scraps and start arranging them until they flow into a design. I am always surprised at how they look once I have finished. My husband builds guitars in a shop in our backyard and he has made me a workspace where I spend most of my days cutting and grinding glass and being in my own little world of creating.
“It’s my happy place!”
Sharon’s friend Mischelle Pierce, president of the NVCAC introduced her to the Arts Council, where she is now a director. You can find a number of pieces Sharon has created in the gift shop, and maybe it will inspire you to explore art as well.
Sharon enjoys being involved in the Art Council and being with amazing, friendly, spirited, and fun-loving people.
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