Sharon Stackpole is mixed media artist.  Her works contain bright colors and different layers adding texture and depth.  Her creations have a theme of happiness and joy that are very abstract.  Stackpole’s art is an exploration of joy and should be enjoyed by all.

Early Life
Stackpole is originally from Kittanning, Pennsylvania, but grew up in West Virginia and considers it her hometown.  She received her artistic training at Fairmont State and West Virginia University.  Although she is done with school, she loves to read and study as much as possible.  Stackpole stated, “I am never finished learning, and the Internet is wonderful for providing an ever-improving pool of resources, techniques and information.”

As a child Sharon’s family was incredibly supportive of her artistic talents.  Her earliest artistic experience was of her gluing her wooden alphabet blocks together at age four.  Her whole family was baffled that she was ruining her blocks, but all she wanted to do was make a sculpture for her grandmother who was coming to visit.  She also used to collect old Cool Whip containers with water and paint and set them around her bedroom.  She has always been fascinated by colors and is still mixing and creating wonderful varieties of color in her art today.

Inspiration/Admiration
Stackpole’s art is welcoming and expresses joy.  She exclaimed, “The best part of art is how we can retool the imperfections in life and turn them into beauty.”  Ever since she was an art student at WVU Stackpole has loved Charles Jupiter Hamilton.  This love for Hamilton is very obvious because she loves color and whimsical designs.   Her pieces range from simple watercolors and oil paints, to crazy mixed media creations.  Basically art is Stackpole’s love and anything and everything can become her next creation.

Current/Future Work
Currently, Sharon Stackpole is working on a series of glass panels that where taken from a deconstructed home.  She is building a mosaic from these pieces, but she is still not sure what they will turn into.  She stated, ” I’m not entirely sure what they will evolve into, but then again, I never am — the pieces take on lives of their own as I work.”

Today Stackpole has reached her life goal and is now showing her art in Charleston, West Virginia.  She would also like her work to be shown in the state museum, which has been her dream since age nine.  Most importantly, she is a strong advocate for having art education in elementary schools. She believes that kids are taught that drawing a straight line, copying an image perfectly, or staying “between the lines” are the only path to art and would love to influence a change in this.

Currently, Stackpoles favorite piece is a glass panel that she has just finished. She wanted to experiment with color theory and was quite happy with the end result. This piece is not hanging in a gallery yet, but many of her works are.  Her pieces are currently hanging in the Purple Moon on 906 Quarrier Street, Charleston West Virginia, which every one should come and enjoy.