Born and raised in Southern California, Sharon graduated from UCLA and went on to study textile conservation as a Mellon Fellow at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The Conservation Laboratory at LACMA was under the direction of Ben Johnson and Pat Reeves. She later received a scholarship to further her textile studies at the Abegg Stiftung, in Riggisberg, Switzerland with Mechtild Flury-Lemburg.
This was all in preparation to fulfill her role of Field Conservator for a National Geographic archaeological project on the North coast of Peru. The ancient site of Pacatnamu, a walled city pre-dating the Inca, that yielded a wealth of information pertaining to the Moche culture. Sharon excavated, analyzed and conserved more than four thousand textiles.
She later studied the art, manufacture and distribution of cintos piteados, elaborately embroidered belts, popular in Mexico and the American southwest. Sharon identified and traced this mysterious bast fiber from the tropical rainforests of southern Mexico to the dance halls and marketplaces in the United States.
Combining her passion for Latin America and handwoven textiles, it wasn’t long before Sharon discovered the Mexican village of Tenancingo.
Exquisite, ikat dyed women’s shawls known as jaspe rebozos are produced. Señor Evaristo Borboa Casas, a master dyer and backstrap loom weaver, extended both friendship and knowledge over the ensuing years. Sharon filmed and edited a short documentary featuring Don Evaristo, one of Mexico’s great treasures.
This all played a part in Sharon’s discovery of natural brown cotton in southwest Louisiana, Acadiana and the making of another documentary film, “Coton jaune - Acadian Brown Cotton - A Cajun Love Story”.
The popularity of the film led to a movement dedicated to saving the heirloom seed from extinction and preserving the traditional Acadian hand spinning and weaving techniques.
Today, Acadian Brown Cotton enjoys the benefits of Fibershed affiliation and is well on its way to creating a regional fiber industry in southwest Louisiana. The Acadiana Fibershed is dedicated to all climate beneficial practices and has successfully convinced many small, local farmers to use regenerative agricultural methods. Sharon has brought this fiber into the twenty-first century with the constant help and support of an all volunteer team of farmers, makers, designers, dyers, professors, students, and friends.