about me

 

     
Welcome and thank you so much for your interest in my creative endeavors! I’m Sharon, the one-woman show behind Sharon Whelton Glass.

       

I have always lived in the Deep South — Atlanta, Mobile, New Orleans and now Birmingham. This part of the country may not have the greatest reputation, and many times I’ve considered moving north or west or anywhere but here. But if those of us who desire to see change move away, that change will never come.

     

As a child, I was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a progressive hereditary neuromuscular disease that affects approximately 2.8 million people worldwide. I struggle daily with fatigue, muscle weakness, lack of balance and nerve pain.

     

In the spring of 2024, I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and subsequently underwent a total thyroidectomy. Nothing makes you want to live quite like coming so very close to dying. For every minute that I spend in the studio, I am grateful that I am still able to create beautiful things!

     

In one form or another, art has been a therapeutic outlet for as long as I can recall. Having always admired the beauty of glass, I took my first stained glass class in March of 2019 and fell in love with the process instantly. Stained glass is the perfect intersection of color, light and shape.

           
Glass art takes many forms — stained glass, fused glass, blown glass, etc., and I endeavor to experiment with all creative processes used to manipulate glass.

      

Thank you for following my journey with glass. It’s not just for cathedrals and it doesn’t have to be solemn. Glass art can be fun and accessible.

     

Portraits by Aly Hansen.