Bio, 2009: Sherry Rossander Mahi
After two years at OSU I moved to California in 1966 and was married for 6 years to Bill Krimm who you may remember from HS and Town & Gown. We have a daughter Velvet who lives and works in Pacific Grove California. Then came a short turbulent marriage that gave me my son Shelby who is living and working in Olympia Washington and he and his wife Debby have just given me my first and only grandchild, Orion Scott. I was a single parent for several years, living in Washington State and getting my degree in Psychology. I met my husband George while living in the Pacific Northwest and doing some search and locate work for a sports car dealership in Olympia. I got a lot of cars from his store in Monterey before we tied the knot and the kids and I moved to Carmel. We lived in the Monterey area for 26 years before coming home to Stillwater. During those years George was in the automobile business managing dealerships selling exotic cars, which provided us with a lot of fun experiences and world travel. He retired from the auto business and is now working in the insurance industry and travels frequently. George and I will celebrate our 32nd anniversary in January.
Those of you who remember me will be surprised that art has been more apart of my life than vocal music. Sad, but too much smoking.
I began my art exploration painting in oil and constructing bronze sculpture. I studied at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and was there during the famous earthquake trying to learn to make art. When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, I was captured by the visual and spiritual quality of glass and the influence of Dale Chihuly.
Making art has been a grounding element in my life. My daily work involves working with the chronically mentally ill in Stillwater at Edwin Fair and before that I was investigating elder abuse in Monterey County CA. The pain and acceptance of suffering I witnessed on a daily basis created a need in me to develop art. I like to make art that focuses on beauty and light and also expresses our life experience. Glass (for me) has a spiritual quality. The manner in which glass embraces light is illuminating and freeing.
In January of 2005 George and I moved to Oklahoma to be near family and help care for my aging parents. I’m looking forward to more time and experiences that inspire making art.
©2009 Stillwater High School Class of 1964