sharon virtue

sharon feels a fondness and connection to:

There is not one specific place, I could say home, but i have made my home where ever I want to be. I have travelled almost all over the world. It is all stunningly brilliant, and every place deserves our deepest respect and gratitude.

sharon passionately wants to change:

That we all become more consciously responsible for our actions. That we try to think not just of our selves but of the whole global nation. That we can live in peace and strive to understand each other.

sharon's bio

“Influenced by Indigenous Art and myth from around the world, I aim to create work that brings awareness to other cultures and bridges the gaps between us. I believe that artist have roles as agents of transformation. Through my experiences as an artist I have a strong sense of the value of art as a means of engagement with the world, and its importance in our lives. My mission as an artist: To inspire, encourage and provide access to the greater community in the creation of art.” British born ceramic artist, Sharon Virtue teaches and creates work at Ruby’s Clay studio, a non-profit artist co-operative in San Francisco, California. Sharon has conducted ceramic programs, earth architecture projects and community mosaic projects with children and adults in San Francisco, Brazil and Africa. In 2005, using funds from the sale of her sculpture, Sharon built a classroom using earth and other natural materials, with a group of orphaned youth in Mozambique. As the Artist in residence at the de Young Museum, in January 2006, Sharon built an 11x 10 ft earth structure called “The Cunnicle”. Children attending the museum were invited to build clay artifacts to place in the interior walls, as gifts to children in the future. Sharon has been awarded several grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Haas Foundation, the Clay and Glass Arts Fund and the Vogelstein Foundation. In 2007 and 2008 she worked with over 300 orphans in Kampala Uganda, as an art teacher for In Movement, a non-profit organization based in Spain. She recently completed six large mosaic murals for the Boy and Girls Club– ‘Cross Cultural Collaborations’, whose design is based upon a dialogue between youth in San Francisco and Kampala, Uganda. Currently, Sharon is conducting classes as part of Ruby’s Clay Studio outreach program, The Mud Bus. This mobile clay studio, brings ceramics to underserved youth throughout the bay area. In April, 2009 Sharon was the recipient of the NCECA international residency award to Ghana, West Africa. She will travel to Ghana and return to Mozambique for a 3rd time in 2010 to conduct more of her community projects with local community.