As both artist and Bromfield Middle School art teacher, Sharon, the consummate experimenter, is always enthusiastically playing with new and old (recyclable) materials. Sharon grew up in Harvard, attended Bromfield School, and eventually came back to teach art there after she graduated from Southeastern Massachusetts University (now University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth) with a BFA.

"I had the perfect childhood growing up in Harvard with wonderful loving parents that embraced art, nature, jazz and good food. I grew up in a home that my dad and his brother's built back in 1948 when Whitney Road was a dirt road. Harvard is such a beautiful town that as a young child the world always seemed so beautiful. Art in school was amazing. We had so many rich offerings to pick from. When I was 13, I started working with silver and clay. I also understood how to warp a loom. I was always taking classes by local artisans that opened up their home studios for classes. I remember wanting to take so many classes that I cleaned houses in exchange for a class. I have always filled my time even as a teenager learning, exploring and creating."

With such excitement and energy for art, Sharon explains she never felt discouraged to pursue art. Local artists Ruth Ostertag, Ann Cuneo, Howard Chansky, Reba Maisel, Phyliss Bosch, and Philip Temple all had a tremendous influence on her. Returning to her community to teach art was thrilling for Sharon. "I absolutely loved my college years. I was immediately hired to teach art in Brockton when I graduated. I think teaching a subject that you love is such a gift. "As a mother of three, I raise my children to understand the value and the importance of art. I am thrilled that my oldest daughter Rachel is taking the art journey with her life. If I am asked the one kind of art I’d love to do, I really can't give an answer. I not only love it all, I want to do it all! It can be overwhelming especially for my new husband."

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"Right now I am obsessed with tempera paint and cardboard. I want to build my own cardboard house that I can retreat to when I need peace. Oh, I also really like spray paint...and I would probably spray paint a peace symbol on the door of my cardboard house! I am taking a class at the Worcester Center for Crafts and working with clay again. I am using clay as a way to frame my felted wall hangings. It is so exciting!!! I guess you could say as a teacher I will always be a student."

To contact Sharon, send email to schandler@psharvard.org.