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, and a more complete portrayal of blacks to counter the notion of whites as being supreme and blacks as the down trodden and hopeless victims of racism. In order for black lives to matter, so must our history; our experiences; and our ancestors. “I want us to remember those lives because we did not always have proof of life lived.” 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 went on to attend Morris Brown College in Atlanta GA, on a scholarship to study Business and Hotel Management Many years after graduating from college, Shine again became interested in art and took some general art classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Then one day a friend who was a long arm quilter offered to teach Sherry how to quilt and she was hooked! 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. 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 currently resides inPennsylvania with her family.
