Meet Sharon Mennell

Art has followed me through every season of my life. I grew up in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where my late grandmother, Josephine Kuykendall, encouraged me to create and to notice the beauty in things made by hand. Clay was my first love, and I spent years as a full-time potter with a family studio, selling my work at shows and to galleries while building a creative life around family.

Over the years, life carried me through many seasons, but creativity has always been the thread tying it all together. I am a mother, a Meemaw to two little grandsons, a cancer survivor, and a lifelong artist who continues to find hope, healing, and purpose through painting.

My late father, Marvin Holbert, was the one who never stopped reminding me that art was my true calling. He would point to my pottery on his shelves and my paintings on his walls and say, “Look at all this talent God gave you—you’re meant to be painting.” Returning fully to my art is my way of honoring him and the faith he had in me.

Today my original paintings and prints are inspired by color, light, faith, and the quiet strength found in nature and in everyday life. Through The Purple Picket, I share that journey with others through pieces that reflect my story, my mountains, my flowers, my faith, and the beauty I still see in a world full of hope.