Sherry Ball Schoenfeldt of Studio Pashnada


"Me In the Mirror"		Hi! Welcome to Studio Pashnada! My name is Sherry Ball Schoenfeldt and, in addition to being the wife of the best husband in the world and the mother of two incredible adult children, I am an artist. I am an artist! WOW! You wouldn’t think those four little words would be so hard to say, but for many of us creative types, they are. Maybe because it sounds immodest. Maybe because it’s not such a lucrative profession. Maybe because “artist” should be stated about you by someone in a museum. Maybe it’s more personal than that. Anyway, I began my personal journey to being an artist at a VERY young age. My parents are creative, so it was only natural that I would pick up a pencil or a needle or... Around kindergarten I started designing clothes and did that for years (we can't seem to find those old sketches so we'll never know where that skill could have taken me, hehe). When I was about twelve, I took my first charcoal class and a few years later began working in oils. All through high-school I took art and created whenever I could. But for some reason I didn’t think art was a profession and started college with absolutely no idea of what I was doing. And I didn’t finish. Instead I got married, had babies, got divorced and somehow, ended up spending a long, long time as an accountant.
Don’t get me wrong. I liked it – the money was good (think single mom afraid to end up with her kids living in a cardboard box) and it used my brain – but it wasn’t my calling.
Livelihood, yes; passion, no. I still made things whenever I could and even sold some things; humongous earrings, painted t-shirt dresses and silk florals were all the rage in the late eighties and early nineties (am I dating myself here, or what?). And around that time I made my first mixed-media pieces - using a lot of the same techniques I did on those mongo earrings. Then two things happened in the mid-nineties: I sold my first commissioned piece and I married my amazing husband. It wasn’t too long after that I woke up and decided to pursue my true passion as my livelihood! And thus, Studio Pashnada was born. The transition from law firm controller in North Dallas to artist in Oklahoma City has been long and slow; I still crunch numbers during tax season. But I think Studio Pashnada might almost be a grown-up now! So, why "Mixed-Media"?
Because I love every art supply and little old goodie I see. I love fabric, fibers, paper, glass, trims, paint, beeswax, game pieces and other found objects. I like to play with fused glass, shrink plastic and polymer clay and I still drag out the sewing machine from time to time. Heck, I have a huge drawer devoted to just glues and tapes! So I think it's safe to say that I love it ALL. (And I mean ALL – we moved not long ago and there's nothing like moving to prove to you just how much stuff you love!!!) If you’re a mixed-media artist it means you have to have the supplies to do anything and everything. I'm just not sure if I own the stuff because I'm a mixed-media artist or if I'm a mixed-media artist because I own the stuff! Starting in the summer of 2011, I've added teaching to my artsy-fartsy resume. The classes are about experimenting with beeswax in collage and I am having a blast doing it. There is nothing like the give-and-take between creative people - fulfilling and inspiring. My work has been published a few times, including a couple of articles (another thing I’d love to do again). Some of my bracelets are sold at Peoria Emporium in New York and my art can often be seen at shows in the Paseo Arts District and other places here in OKC. I also founded a local art group, The Ephemerites, which meets monthly. You can read more about me and my art journey on my blog, including the following posts: * Why I "Art" part one * Why I "Art" part two * Ideas & Inspiration Click here to see some photos of my studio.