A portion of our proceeds are donated to the Pachamama Alliance or Music Camp International. The buyer makes their choice at the time of sale.

   Philosophy

• "To the person who uses music as a medium for the expression of ideas, feelings, images, or what have you; anything which facilitates this expression properly is his instrument. Until the evolution of jazz group improvisation the history of Western music or music as we know it outside of jazz represents the reflection of one psyche.
  
  "For the first time in a music of Western origin, jazz group improvisation represents the very provocative revelation of two, three, four, or five minds responding simultaneously to each other in a unified coherent performance."
  --Bill Evans, reflecting on his album "Conversations with Myself," reissued in 1984 and 1997.
  
  "The words of Bill Evans regarding his album "Conversations with Myself" remind me of something that happens when I paint: ideas, feelings, images, and more dance around inside of me, and the brush improvises as it chooses, producing a reflection of my psyche. Thus, my brush is my instrument, the paper is the keyboard and the colors are the musical notes."
  --Sally Vaughn, May 2012

Background

I grew up in Southern California, where my earliest experience with art consisted of making a hand print on a piece of clay in preschool and this exercise was repeated while I was in kindergarten. In early elementary school, I poked holes in a fish-shaped spoon holder to make it look like scales, and it hangs on my kitchen wall. Next, I painted some basic shapes onto a clay pot before it was fired and glazed. I cherish these items that still hold special places in my home!Daddy taught High School Physics and Chemistry, Mom was an Elementary School Secretary. I learned about life from the rhythm of school sessions and family vacations spent on the road between California and Washington State. The subtleties of Daddy's teaching, Mom's cooking, and their skills used in raising a family must have influenced me, as I knew in early High School I wanted to be a Home Economics teacher and I followed that path in my studies.

 

In college I took an art class, in part to meet my GE requirements. Projects included painting the gray scale and the color wheel, freehand pencil drawings and such. One assignment in particular remained in my memory bank: an assignment showing the strength of 'line'. Several years ago, I re-discovered that painting in an old trunk and immediately realized why I kept it. After graduating with a BS degree and a Lifetime Credential for teaching K-12 and Adults, I used my love for education teaching High School Home Economics for 20 years. Eventually I learned there are other ways to teach and help others. I worked in the private sector for a number of years, honing some skills, learning new ones, and discovering that "business: and "education" are very similar, they just use different languages. It was during this period that I was introduced to yet another language: Art.

Influences

This was through Creative Process painting with Cathy Williams in her Art and Soul workshops. An amazing guide and mentor, she influenced me in subtle yet profound ways, to open my eyes and my being to the concept of "permission". Those lessons became influential in my life in addition to my art! Eventually, I gave myself "permission" to take a break and let the mud from the years of toil settle. Through that process, ideas began to percolate to the surface and I was able to mold a business plan that incorporated both my loves and my skills: I use my gifts for organizing and teaching as I work with my clients. I love to paint and I love to work in the real world. Art and work blend together in my life. Time spent painting is very special, even sacred, evoking thoughts, ideas and feelings in me that I forget are "in there". While I am in the process of painting something happens in my daily life– my awareness is heightened and I see things differently, I see people differently, I see life differently – it's as if I see more clearly all that is going on around me! I keep my paintings gathered together in my little living room, displaying one at a time every few weeks, savoring each as I rediscover it and we learn to live together in my home.

 

Over and over, through these same processes, I discover myself pouring out all over the blank paper. I also enjoy a bit of writing, and when I discovered so much pleasure in writing Haikus specifically, in my excitement, I realized the Haikus and the paintings evoke similar feelings in me. No painting was created for a Haiku, and no Haiku was written to match a painting. Quite simply, while enjoying the process of watching slide shows of my paintings, the words of my Haikus were running through my mind and I started discovering similarities between themes and the idea of mixing the two came about. All of this work is the result of following my heart, reaching for my dreams, of doing what I love in life. It is a privilege to share this with others. The author Ray Bradbury shared some great advice about taking risks, suggesting that we first jump off the cliff and build wings on the way down…and then fly.

When I am not painting in Sally's Gallery, or enjoying my work in Sally's Galley, restoring BALANCE in people's lives, I can be found sitting on my patio with my Dachsies, Wolfie and Hansie, next to the fountain, with pencil and paper in hand to gather my thoughts and ideas. So I welcome you to Sally's Gallery! Enjoy what you see, and enjoy the writings that accompany some of my paintings. And no matter where you find me, I can assure you that I am still in the process of building my wings.

© 2016 Sally's Gallery. All rights reserved. Developed by Melody Sharp