Bio: Sharon has had several professional careers, initially as a graphic designer. She then pursued a doctorate in Psychology. After retiring from her specialty as a Sex Therapist, she became a hooker. She has combined her graphic design knowledge and emotional intelligence to the artistry of rug hooking patterns. Drawing from life experience, her areas of design have been world travel and cultures, family experiences and love, the delight of children, and a deep appreciation of art, particularly paintings by masters.
She became nationally known initially for punchneedle designs and published a book through Martingale Press in 2009 called Punchneedle on a Grand Scale. After writing that book, she put down the punchneedle and picked up a hook to continue designing with a zest, creating over 100 patterns. While simultaneously hooking for eight years, she has been teaching across the country and continues to write articles on rug hooking for numerous publications including Rug Hooking Magazine, ATHA, Wool Street Journal, among others. Recognition of her work, published her works in those journals and in Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs.
Recently she self-published a book containing all of her hooked works as a permanent record. She is the owner of Off the Hook Wool Rugs with an online website where she displays work and offers patterns for purchase.
Specialties: Color! Moves easily in designing pieces for intense jewel tones to other pieces in soft pastels.
Design! Knowledgeable in placement of shapes, color, space, and texture. Movement! Looks for balance, proportion, emphasis, harmony and rhythm in design. Whimsy! Brings spirit, humor, and emotion to her works.