About Sharon Portelance
Sharon Portelance was born in Norwich, CT. Her passion for jewelry making led her to the Maine College of Art & Design in Portland (1982) where she received her bachelor’s degree (BFA) in jewelry and silversmithing. Furthermore, she holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the State University of New York at New Paltz (1992) with a specialization in metal. She is currently a professor at the Maine College of Art & Design in Portland. During her residency she practices stone cutting techniques to create a ‘loose’ mosaic brooch.
About the Program
The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum (ILJM), inaugurates the first Jewelry Artist in Residence Program in a museum, worldwide. The Residency applies to artists that wish to engage in cultivating their art and developing in public activities with visitors and other artists.
The Jewelry Artist Residence program (JaIR) invites artists and public to a dialogue of creation and development exclusively on artistic studio jewelry. It provides a time of reflection, research, production, and immersion into a new culture of contemporary studio jewelry. Residents are encouraged to explore their practice within a public space; meeting new people, using new materials, experimenting in a new location and potentially integrating elements into their art. Art residencies emphasize the importance of meaningful and multi-layered cultural exchange and immersion into a unique environment, with live feedback and immediate enhancing of knowledge.