Sharon Hadley-Carter

Sharon Hadley-Carter is a self-taught Textile Artist residing in Central California. Her work features fiber collaged portraits on canvas, quilted textiles and wearable art. She purposely incorporates African and hand dyes textiles in her work. Her art reflects her African heritage and her pursuit to create legacy work. Sharon strives towards sustainability in her work by incorporating upcycled fabric and utilizing even the smallest scraps of fiber in her work wherever possible.

My first memory of being exposed to art was finger painting in kindergarten. It was there I learned about the color wheel and the magic of mixing paints with my fingers to create new colors. I loved everything about it. I continued to independently explore a variety of art mediums throughout my childhood and early adult years. About twenty years ago I began to think about my legacy as a women of color. I had a strong a desire to leave a tangible item behind to mark my presence here on earth. With that thought in mind, I took a class and made my first quilt. From that point forward I have created all of my work utilizing textiles as my preferred medium. My work has evolved over the years from making traditional quilts to creating textile art.

My art accomplishes include; Two awards received for textile art work entered into the Fine Arts Exhibit at the Fresno County Fair (Fresno, 2014 and 2015), Textile art work juried and awarded at the “Best of the Valley” exhibit (Lindsay, CA 2019, Selection as a Feature Artist for a month long exhibit at Clovis Community College Gallery (Clovis, CA 2020), Artist with Studio/Galley space at the M Street Art Complex, (Fresno, CA 2019-2020).