STEP UP GALLERY NEWS RELEASE

A Lifetime of Color: Batiks by Gloria Sharp will be on display in Step Up Gallery at Mesa Public Library May 14 through June 10. More than 40 pieces of this vibrantly-color artwork, made from cloth, wax and dye, will be on view. There will be an opening reception to meet the artist, Saturday, May 16, 2 to 3:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.

For as long as she can remember, Gloria Sharp has been in love with color. “By the time I was six years old, I already loved my box of crayons and my drawing tablet,” Gloria says. “I filled the tablet’s pages with so much energetic color that I quickly used up my crayons.”

Gloria pursued a career in art, after graduate studies in printmaking and painting at Carnegie-Mellon University and Tyler School of Arts at Temple University. After receiving her B.S. in Art Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, she went on to teach art for many years before becoming a graphic designer and art director at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

She used her free summers as a teacher to explore her own interests. “During one of my summers of exploration, I became interested in painting on fabric and so began my lifelong love affair with batik. I took my early inspiration from Ukrainian Easter eggs, the richly colored and beautifully crafted eggs that were a vivid part of my ethnic heritage.”

Gloria applies wax resist and dyes in gradual stages, back and forth, beginning with light colors and ending with the darks. “The results are magical, and I am forever addicted to this delightful and unpredictable medium!”

Step Up Gallery (https://stepupgallery.org) is on the top level of Mesa Public Library at 2400 Central Ave. The gallery is open the same hours as the library: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.