Sherry Shine
“Utilizing rich textures, vibrant patterns, intricate layering techniques and assembled elements, Sherry Shine creates stunning art quilts made of fine silks and vintage fabrics that pay tribute to the journey of the African in America. Her quilts are an affirmation of the lives lived by black men and women, whether working together on a farm, heading North in search of a better way of life, or traveling back South to visit relatives they left behind. Shine also seeks to present a more complete portrayal of blacks to counter the notion of blacks as downtrodden, hopeless victims of racism. “In order for black lives to matter, so must our history; our experiences; and our ancestors. We must remember those lives because we did not always have proof of lives lived,” says Shine. Fine art collectors agree that there is beauty reflected in the images of Sherry Shine along with an air of sophistication that serves to document the existence of communities and travelers, their determination and their resiliency.
Sherry attended Morris Brown College in Atlanta GA, on a scholarship to study Business and Hotel Management but her first love was always art. Many years after graduating from college, Shine renewed her interest in art and started taking art classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Shine was introduced to quilting by a friend whose aunt was a long arm quilter, and that aunt offered to teach Sherry how to quilt.
Shine learned all about traditional quilting, cutting and piecing of fabrics together. Shine attended a lecture on the dyeing of fabrics and how to make the fabric an art quilt, and that helped her to understand what she needed to do. “My creativity and curiosity were ignited and my passion for art quilts was formed” recalls Shine. Quilters and fine art collectors appreciate the precision with which shine composes her works, paying attention to the smallest details and adhering to the intricacies of fine art quilt making.
Shine has spoken to, and taught quilt making classes around the country, as well as being featured in and on the cover of Quilt Makers Studio, the go to publication of quilters. The art of Sherry Shine has been exhibited across the country in galleries, colleges, and museums including Bank Street College, New York, NY, Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, The Bedford Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY, Manhattan Community College, New York, NY and The National Constitutional Center, Philadelphia, PA. Shine is represented exclusively by E&S Gallery and she currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and business partner, Marcus Shine.
