Sharon Burrink has held a passion for art since winning a coloring contest in Sunday school, and now enjoys passing on her talent to the next generation.
A graduate of the International Academy of Design and Technology and Governors State University, she received her master’s degree in art in 2010 and is the newest art teacher at Luther East High School in Lansing, Ill.
In addition to drawing, painting, sculpture and mixed media, Burrink recently introduced her students to digital photography, allowing them to manipulate photographs by computer.
“I have always adored my teachers in school, and high school is the most influential time in a child’s life. Caring teachers inspired me to be a teacher,” she said.
“Art can express a person’s thoughts, secrets, feelings and fears in a safe and creative way. It’s therapeutic, it’s comforting, it’s exciting and it’s beautiful.”
Burrink instructs Auto Cad III and Computer for the Arts at Illinois Institute of Art in Tinley Park, Ill., and leads art classes for Restoration Ministries’ Gallery of the Arts for children and teens in Harvey, Ill.
“My favorite class is a class we call Expressions, where I do a little art history on an abstract expressionist artist and then they express their feelings on canvas or paper in the style of that particular artist,” she said.
“Students often talk about their feelings and experiences, expressing why they applied the paint in such a manner.”
Burrink also owns Artistic Interiors Inc., a small interior design firm that does custom artwork and murals in addition to interior design for clients in Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. Her work can be viewed at sharonburrink.com.
A resident of South Holland, Ill., and mother of five, Burrink enjoys attending art shows with granddaughter Jalynn and manipulating photographs by computer in her free time.
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