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Sharmon Davidson photo for my story

My Story

Since childhood, I have had a passion for creating my own world, drawing paper dolls or constructing “people” from natural materials like sticks and flowers. I always knew that I wanted to be an artist, but it was a dream that got deferred many times. 

 

As an adult, struggling to balance art-making with raising children and

earning a living, I made and exhibited my work whenever I could.

During my years as a stay-at-home mom, I earned my BA in art

education, as well as a BFA in drawing. My life took another detour

when I decided to switch my teaching focus to Special Education

because of the need for greater job security. It took me six more

years to earn my Master's while teaching full time.

 

All of this, plus building and restoring our log cabins, left me almost no time to make art for several years. But delaying my dream of being a full-time artist wasn’t all bad. It gave me the chance to develop my own unique style, but just as importantly, I now understood what I wanted my art to say.

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While I was beginning to spend some time working on my art, the politics and pressures of my job finally got the better of me. Forced to retire on disability, it was a year and a half before I was able to function in any normal way. During that dark time, I honestly didn't know if I would ever make art again. I taped positive affirmations all over my house, and forced myself to walk every day.

 

One day, I began to work on a collage called Out of the Darkness. At that point, I began to think I might survive. I built my first website, and for the first time in my life, I was able to call myself a full time artist. It was a long time coming, but well worth the wait. Thank you all for the friendship, patience, encouragement, or just taking the time to look at my website. I'm more grateful than I can say.

Artist Statement

My earliest memories are of a preoccupation with careful examination of the world around me, and with making marks on paper to represent what I saw. Growing up, I developed a passion for learning, a deep affinity with nature, and a desire to communicate through line and color the things I could not express in words.

 

My work originates from a deep belief in the sanctity of the earth, and in the underlying unity of everything in our universe. Formed from common elements born from a common source, everything is interconnected in the most intricate ways, both visible and invisible. Over time, I have developed a vocabulary of nature-inspired symbols through which I attempt to express this essential idea.

 

Each piece develops organically and intuitively, as layers of transparent color along with other materials are built up. Vintage and antique ephemera are used in a newer series of collages which focuses on time, social and ecological issues, and narrative as a means of revealing this mystery.

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