Sharon Gordon
Fiber Artist
Sharon Gordon uses the term ‘rag weaving’ to start to explain her fiber art; I’d say she’s actually a composer of materials using modern rag weaving as her canvas. Traditional rag weaving is the use of stripped fabrics that are woven again for functional home use. Sharon’s palate is often silk cloth, in beautifully vibrant colors, which become the foundation for her next layer. The next layer might be embroidery, fabric paints or an application of a natural dyed cloth to be embellished.
Growing up in Western NC with roots going back several generations, Sharon Gordon loves the association of her textiles with Appalachian heritage. Yes, Appalachia has a long history of weaving, of rag weaving and of repurposing materials. Though her fiber art is not a functional craft, it embodies the history and traditions of her roots. She has taken her textile interests to a new level, one that is uniquely her own.
Art has always been a part of Sharon’s life; various art classes and influential teachers spurred an early interest in art education as a possible career. But circumstances can take you in a different path than originally planned. Her desire to explore other places led her to Florida during college, and there she married and raised four children. It was finally after the fourth child graduated that Sharon came back to Western NC and started textile classes in Haywood Community College’s Professional Craft Program.
Sharon graduated from HCC, Professional Craft in Textiles with an Applied Science Degree in 2007, receiving a Presidents Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She received a Penland School Award in 2006 at the Blue Ridge Handweaving Show. She was juried into the Southern Highland Craft Guild as a member, belongs to the Handweavers Guild of America, the Surface Design National Association, Local Cloth in WNC, and is a member of both the Asheville and Hendersonville Arts Councils.
When we visit Sharon you’ll experience her passion for color and texture; you’ll see her home studio with looms for weaving, sewing machines and a vast array of fabrics. And best of all, we’ll see her one-of-a kind beautiful fiber artwork.