“Sharon Featured in June 2025 at Village Gallery of Local Artists”

“Sharon Hall Sculpts Whimsical Critters at Village Gallery of Local Artists”

The Village Gallery of Local Artists is delighted to invite art collectors and enthusiasts to explore the playful, enchanting sculptures of fiber clay artist Sharon Hall. Hall will be our Featured Artist for the month of June 2025 and we will host a reception on Friday, June 6th, from 5 to 8 p.m., to showcase her collection. Join us for light refreshments and the opportunity to meet Hall and learn more about her process and inspirations as an artist. We originally scheduled this exciting event for First Friday in March, but it was postponed due to inclement weather.

Hall’s display sits by a large window at the Village Gallery. Bright sunlight perfectly accentuates her work, consisting primarily of her whimsical “critters,” as she refers to them. This menagerie includes long-legged horses, friendly bears, and playful kittens and puppies. “I love horses,” she emphasizes. But cats might just be her favorite. “I love when I sculpt kitties. I’ve got a couple of different pieces – like a kitten on its back with a ball of yarn.”

Her primary medium, fiber clay, is an air-dry material that does not need firing. Hall sculpts the clay and allows it to dry before painting the piece. The finished product resembles bronze. Hall’s process is very straightforward. “I grab a handful of clay and just start working it into legs. Then, I do the feet and then the body. I frequently let that sit for a while, then do the head, tail, and mane. Just build it from the ground up. Each piece is handmade; there’s no mold.”

After thirty years working as a safety engineer on boilers, pressure vessels, and nuclear power plants, throughout the South and Midwest, Hall retired to the mild Sedona winter in 2014. “Sedona was the most beautiful place I’d ever been.”

She started taking classes at the Sedona Art Center (SAC), beginning with pottery and eventually participating in one of the SAC shows. Her teachers included Barbara Brown, Ken Rowe, and Joanie Wolters, all of whom she credits with developing and inspiring her. Hall has been a full-time working artist for the last seven years and has been affiliated with the Village Gallery for six years now.

Even throughout her engineering career, Hall lived a creative life. “I’ve always been a crafter. If there was a craft class, I would take it. Stained glass, glassblowing, candle and soap making, jewelry. I love to putz with my hands.”

We invite the public to meet Sharon Hall and her band of fiber clay “critters,” from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 6th. The Village Gallery is located at 6512 State Route 179, in the Village of Oak Creek, and is always accepting applications for unique art and new membership in our cooperative style gallery. For more information, go to sedonalocalartists.com or phone (928) 284-1416.