Sharon Church

Sharon Church (born 1948; died 2022) was an American studio jeweler, metalsmith, and educator. She was a professor emerita of the University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2012, Church was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council (ACC). In 2018, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of North American Goldsmiths. and Winona Skinner. Church grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, graduating from the Tower Hill School, Class of 1966. Her father was a construction engineer for DuPont Co, and she recalled growing up watching her mother doing craft work and wearing jewelry.

Education In 1970, Church earned a B.S. from Skidmore College, where she was a student of Earl Pardon. She began working with wood while at Skidmore College. Church earned an M.F.A. from The School for American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1973.

Teaching In 1979 Church moved from Wilmington, Delaware, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to begin teaching at the Philadelphia College of Art (later Craft + Material Studies program at University of the Arts (Philadelphia)). After 35 years, she retired in 2014, becoming professor emerita. She often uses Castello boxwood or ebony. Following the death of her first husband in 1993, Church began to make carved wood a key element of her jewelry and sculptures. Her first piece in this style, It was the Most Beautiful Day of the Summer (1995), resembles both a fox's head and a cloven heart, in gold and ebony.

Professional activities Church has served on the board of directors of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (1983-1987). She has been the production coordinator for Metalsmith magazine (1986-1987) and served on its editorial advisory committee. She has written for Metalsmith and other magazines. She is a member of the American Craft Council and of Art Jewelry Forum. Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Arts and Design, New York City; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany; National Gallery of Australia; Museum of Fine Arts Houston; State Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg, Russia; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Philadelphia Museum of Art; and the Delaware Art Museum. Her work, Oh No!, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign.

Awards and honors 2018, Lifetime Achievement Award, Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) 2018, Distinguished Artist, James Renwick Alliance 2010, Medal of Distinction, Philadelphia Art Alliance 2004, Richard C. von Hess Faculty Prize, University of the Arts 1999, Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, University of the Arts 1977, Craftsmen's Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts