Sherry Bingaman

I have been a textile artist for over 40 years and currently sell my work online and at the Portland Saturday Market in Portland, Oregon. My obsession with textiles began when I took my first weaving class in college at Iowa State University in 1968. When I started dyeing my own yarns I became obsessed with creating my own color blends and started dyeing silk fabrics and scarves.

I am inspired by color and texture and the unlimited creative possibilities with fabrics, yarns, and fibers. I was a full-time textile artist from 1980-1995, doing art fairs with my husband, Jim, all over the country including the Old Town Art Fair in Chicago, Ann Arbor Street Fair, A.C.E. shows in Baltimore, San Francisco, and St. Louis, Coconut Grove, and Disney's Festival of the Masters in Florida at Lake Buena Vista. It was a fantastic 15 years! When I began teaching K-12 art in 1995 in Missouri, I continued to do shows in the summer. I moved to Portland, Oregon in 2013 and continue to sell my work at the Portland Saturday Market from March through December. Covid 19 shortened the 2020 selling season, but I have been concentrating on my online selling and continue to stay busy. I feel so lucky to have creative work that fills me with such joy!

I have used Dharma products almost exclusively since the 1990s for their quality and great customer service. Dharma's Fiber Reactive Dyes are my favorites. So easy to use and such consistent quality!

I also use their silks and other fabrics, scarf blanks, yarns, some clothing products, trims, and Egyptian cotton thread for my serger because it takes the dyes so beautifully. I have emailed and called Dharma customer service a number of times over the years and always found everyone to be so friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I have recommended Dharma to many artists and customers.

I have a wonderful and supportive husband, Jim, and we have two daughters who are artists in their own right-- Kate Bingaman Burt, a professor of graphic design at Portland State University and free lance illustrator (www.katebingamanburt.com) and Kory Bingaman Francka, comic book artist and illustrator (www.korybing.com). I have a gorgeous red-headed 2½ year old grandson, Hank Bingaman Burt. I am content as long as I can be around my family and continue to weave and dye and create, "I make stuff, because I get sad if I don't"--my favorite quote from graphic designer Will Bryant (willbryantstudio.com).