THE CATAMOUNT ARTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sharon Biddle

 Sharon Kenney Biddle, Board Member, Catamount Arts

• I was born and raised in Newton, Mass., but preferred the summer camp near New Hampshire.

• I graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1965 with no particular honors, a substantive grounding in visual art and a deep desire to get out of Ohio.

• I married, moved to Philadelphia, worked in the retail gourmet food business, and started a small silkscreen card-making business. It was blatantly unsuccessful financially.

• I moved to Vermont in 1967 with the aforementioned husband and found home. I have a honed and passionate sense of place here.

• For the 14 years of my first marriage, I showed my paintings, pastels and drawings all over Vermont. Once in a while something sold.

• After divorcing, I ran a private summer art program for kids and started a Portrait Through the Mail business with commissions from around the country. Both were highly appreciated by kids and customers, but advantageous financially? No.

• Though I had substituted for years, full bore teaching began as Artist-in-Residence at St. Johnsbury Academy in 1988. After that, I taught at Danville’s K-12 grade school, one of the few left in Vermont, for 23 years and developed a deep art program there. I made a living.

• I was chosen Arts Teacher of the Year a couple of times in my district and got to go to a fancy dancy dinner in the state capital. Many of my students are still friends and their children come to the workshops that I now do in retirement.

• In 1989, I married a childhood sweetheart, William Biddle. Through Bill, I have two step-children and two spectacularly gorgeous grandchildren.

• Since I am no longer teaching every weekday, I have time now to make art. I’m finally showing regularly again: paintings, drawings, sculpture, hand made books and lately, wool-felt rocks.

• Over the years I’ve presented workshops in art and bookmaking for the Vermont Teachers Who Write Conference, for local groups in St. Johnsbury and for Catamount Arts.

• My endeavors outside my field have included being Chairman of the Barnet Planning Commission, Chairman of the Barnet Zoning Board, a Member of the Community Advisory Board for Planned Parenthood of Vermont, Member of the Board of Directors for Northern Counties Health Centers and Chief Editorial Writer and Illustrator for the Newsletter for Umbrella, Inc.

• In recent years, I completed a novel about two adventuresome teenagers. The novel takes place in 8th century England.

• I’ve always gardened.  Now I’m gardening as much as possible, mainly flowers. My gardens have occasionally been on garden tours during which over a hundred  people amble through the yard.

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