Sarah G. Sharp is an artist who specializes in symbolic embroidery and quilt-making.

In 2014, Sharp read a Life magazine discussing communes—shared living communities where individuals or families live together. This article inspired her to transform symbolic and cultural messages from texts into visual pieces. This is when Sharp’s love for symbolic textiles began to take shape. Over time, Sharp began to create visuals of many different meaningful texts, including regional and cultural texts. 

On Friday, Feb. 13, Sharp hosted a visual artist talk via Zoom. In this, she described her methods for making art, as well as her inspirational figures, including Minerva, one of the very first women’s literary clubs in the United States. One of her other inspirations was the 1945 book “Angel in the Forest” by Marguerite Young. The book centers around two failed utopian communities in 19th-century New Harmony, Indiana. The story discusses the landscape of New Harmony, and it is the core reason Sharp focuses on perfecting her landscape art.

As for her achievements, Sharp has a bachelor’s degree in media studies from The Evergreen State College in Washington. She also holds a master’s degree in modern and contemporary art and an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in studio art. In 2019, Sharp brought her art to the Tool Sharing Quilting Circle at the New York City Textile Arts Center.

During quarantine, she couldn’t go to her studio, which meant she couldn’t work on or study her main artworks. For this reason, she went back to her quilt pattern research and focused on making smaller, more miniature needlepoint textiles. This shift allowed her to experiment with geometric forms and symbolism, reinforcing her ongoing interest in translating cultural and regional influences into detailed, textile-based visual narratives.