Sharon Portleance ’82 is a studio jeweler, professor, and program chair of Metalsmithing & Jewelry at the College. After receiving her BFA in 1982, Sharon Portelance traveled across the United States before settling in Seattle to begin her studio practice and teach at the Pratt Fine Arts Center. She subsequently earned her MFA at the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1992. Sharon has taught here since 1999 and has also served as Acting Dean of the College and Vice President of Academic Affairs for three years.
Sharon has been a guest lecturer throughout the United States, Canada, and in Europe. She recently completed residencies in Tallinn, Estonia, and at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. This spring, Sharon exhibited her latest body of work called Reflected Bodies at Jewelerswerks in Washington DC. This jewelry explores the relationship of the interior of the body to the natural world.