Growing up on the beautiful Seattle waterfront instilled in Sharolyn Hayes the colors, individuality and vitality of the Northwest. The primitiveness coupled with the modernity of the Native North West American Indian designs, the water and the lush vegetation has been a life-long inspiration for her.

 

Hayes was originally a printmaker after receiving her Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the University of Washington (in Seattle, WA), but moved on to teaching and later still, to a career in the US Army.

 

After retirement in Alexandria, VA, she attended George Washington University for a refresher course in drawing and then to the Art League School in Alexandria, VA focusing on watercolors. 

 

During that time her mother wanted some “original” needlepoint seat covers for her chairs (each a different motif) and that started Hayes doing designs, drawings, and paintings, so useful in creating models for original, oversized needlepoint works of art.