Since 1980, working with glass has been Karole’s passion. Using color and light she creates pieces that delight and sanctify our connection to Spirit. Glass has been a never ending source of inspiration for her and she is constantly learning new techniques and exploring new method of expression. She specializes in creating one of kind glass sculptures using a variety of techniques. Through out her career she has taken numerous classes to learn different techniques of working with glass, this allows her work to be constantly new and evolving. Sharpe earned her B.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Colorado in 1986, and continued her education at Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle. She has also studied in Colorado with many artists. Currently she is learning to blow glass with Mike Saull here in Denver CO. Sharpe’s award winning sculptures have been featured in numerous juried and group exhibitions such as the Sculpture In the Park, in Loveland, CO. She has exhibited with nationally known galleries including Habatat (Detroit MI) and Pismo (Denver CO). Her work may be seen at Sand Dollar Gallery in Denver, CO, Cork Gallery, Denver, CO, Rare Things, Creede, CO, Organic Peddler, in Del Norte, CO, and Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood, CO. Ever since I was a little girl I have loved Color and Light. I re-discovered my Creativity when I returned to college in my late twenties, to take a few Art classes after working in the Dental Hygiene field for a few years. This re-entry into the Art world re-established my connection to the Spiritual. Initially I created Art pieces as a way of healing myself, but I found they were also healing for others. Working with Glass is a Sculptor's dream come true! It can be soft and fluid or rigid and sharp. My goals in creating art pieces are to: inspire, delight, beautify the world, teach, spur imagination, and to heal myself and others. My pieces are meant to "activate" an individual on the soul level, to create an opening, a reconnection to Spirit. I translate spiritual energy into the three dimensional form. My pieces are meant to cause others to remember who they are, to remind us we are all connected to an incredible vast creation. The ideas for my pieces come to me when I meditate. I ask a question, or see an image in my minds eye, or a design will be shown to me, sometimes I remember a found object that I forgot about that is perfect for the piece I am working on. I am influenced by my quest for Spiritual Enlightenment, also by my emotional and spiritual growth processes. New ideas come to me from a current emotional issue or a belief that I need to let go of, or a new way of looking at life. My style is realistic, contemporary, expressionistic and spiritual. I get inspired by people, objects, animals, nature, attitudes, emotions, celebrating life, colors, and shapes. Color and Light are essential to my work. My work is autobiographical, my portfolio reads like a diary of relationships and ideas that are important to me at the time of creation. I use traditional stained glass techniques in a nontraditional way. I work on multiple bodies of work simultaneously: sculpture, lamps, chandeliers, windows, window jewelry, ornaments, gift items and outdoor sculptures. I using a variety of techniques including: found objects, blown glass, fusing, slumping, casting, sand blasting, painting on glass, mosaics, assemblage, and collage. In some pieces I use the same copper foil technique Louis Comfort Tiffany used on his famous lamps. Through the objects I generate a message or a mood in each artwork. I use found objects out of context, inviting the viewer to stop and look at what we normally pass by so quickly. I also work in various mediums: glass, welded steel, ceramics, cement, fiber, acrylic paints, fabric paints, photography, mono-prints, and drawing. I like working in a variety of mediums to express what it is that I want the world to see about me. I use whatever medium or process it takes to get the message across I am sending. I make sculpture pieces to interact with-in the space, to come up off the wall or the floor, to be looked at from all angles. I am connected to Spirit when I work, I am the worker but Spirit directs how the piece will be put together. I am always surprised after a piece is done, and many times when I am finished with a piece I look at it and wonder how did I do that?!