Sharon, Alison, and the Gallery

Way back in my college days, I hung out a lot with Sharon. She graduated a couple of years ahead of me from Northwestern High School, where her mother was an art teacher. Sharon had her mother's passion for art and a lot of talent as well. She lived at home and went to Wright State back in the early days when lots of their art classes were held in places that looked a lot like farm out buildings. One of her favorite parts of the Fine Arts curriculum was the print making. Sharon used to etch the plates and print her own Christmas cards every year . . . and they were beautiful. Most of her prints were produced in quantities of 10 and 20; and I was lucky to get several signed and numbered copies as gifts. Hey! We were poor and made each other's gifts a LOT!

In the early seventies, I was attending Sinclair Community College and commuting into Dayton for my classes while Sharon was commuting to Wright State to complete her bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. We sometimes spent time on weekends going to art shows that Sharon was required to attend as part of a class. What I know about art, I absorbed by osmosis from Sharon. I also typed most of her papers since I was majoring in Executive Secretarial Science for my Associate degree. So when we weren't doing homework or going over to Yellow Springs to the Little Art Theater to see some artsy flick in a small, dark room filled with pot smoke, we went hiking in Glen Helen and swam in the pool at Sharon's house and drove to Fairborn to drink coffee and talk late into the night.

Sharon went on to get her Master's degree, and I got married and moved to Kettering. While Sharon was studying for her Master's, she did a drawing of a little girl named Alison. Sharon rented an upstairs apartment from a woman who took care of a couple of kids during the day. Alison was one of those children. The drawing of Alison was so neat that Sharon did an etching of it and made prints. A framed and matted copy of that print was a gift Sharon gave me . . . maybe it was a wedding present. I have always loved Alison, and she has been a part of every living space I have ever occupied. She makes me smile. She reminds me of a friendship that has faded but not been forgotten.

Alison has been hanging over the mantle in our family room here in Pittsburgh for 8 years. Recently, the print came loose from the mat that Sharon carefully cut. I took Alison down and had a double mat made to help bring out the print; but I kept the original frame since I know Sharon made it. My poor photography doesn't do her justice, but here she is! I moved her into the entry hall where I can see her up close when I walk through to the kitchen. Isn't she pretty?

I tried several times to get a better picture. But this is the best I could do. You'll just have to come over and see her for yourself.

To top it off, I was going through my desk about a month ago and found two other prints that Sharon had given me which I had never framed. Since Joann Fabric was having a special on custom framing, I took these two down and had them framed as well. They are hanging on the opposite side of the entry hall creating a little "Sharon Gallery" in my entry way.

This picture is me at about age 20. I think Sharon sketched this while I was typing one of her papers at my desk one evening . . . or early morning as the case may be. You can't see extremely well, but the print is done in a deep red, so I had the inside mat done to match.

The young woman at Joann Fabric who took my order and did this work was a young artist right out of school. She was delighted with how this turned out and was excited to be working with original art. (It sure beats Steeler memorabilia!)

This second print is some wild flowers that were probably sketched on one of our weekend hikes over at Englewood Dam. Sharon particularly liked trees for a while, but I don't seem to have any of those.

Sometimes on Sunday afternoons we would go to the print shop and I would study while Sharon carefully wiped the plates and made the prints. The students had to take turns with the equipment, and there were a lot of people trying to get their assignments done using the same stuff. The hours were weird.

Well, I still have at least one more print that I haven't had framed yet. I think it is in my cedar chest, and I will probably get it framed the next time I save up the money and get a coupon for some custom framing. I think the other one has a skeleton and an owl in it. That print will complete my collection. Of course, I did get Sharon's wood sculpture called "The Relationship" from my mother a few years ago. It has a place of honor in the living room next to (what else) the piano. :-)

I haven't heard from Sharon in many years although my mother has seen her a couple of times. When I got the gallery set up, I looked up an address for her on the internet and took a chance at sending her a card and a couple of pictures from the gallery. Of course, I sent her the address to the blog and an invitation to get back in touch. I hope I found an address that will reach its destination. It's never too late to find an old friend.