s a wildlife biologist, artist, naturalist, river guide, and award-winning designer, Sharon K. Schafer brings a wealth of talent, skill, and experience to her work.

Schafer's fascination with nature and love of art has always been an integral part of her life.

As a youngster, Schafer camped with her family throughout the Southwest. These experiences instilled in her a life-long appreciation of the natural world.

Her professional career began at the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. There, she participated in molding and casting of vertebrate fossils, and identifying and cataloging Rancho La Brea materials.

At Humboldt State University, she earned a degree in Wildlife Management, with honors, and completed an additional two years of graduate study. Subsequently, she worked as a field biologist in Washington, California, and Nevada for Soil Conservation Service, Pacific Gas and Electric, and the Bureau of Land Management.

Her interest in art, however, kept calling. She established an award-winning art gallery in Southern Nevada that also included a museum-quality frame center. There her exhibit design and fabrication skills earned her numerous national and international awards. In an effort to combine her interest in art and nature, Schafer founded Skydance Studio in 1998. With the studio, she has dedicated herself to the creation of products and images that promote a deeper understanding and appreciation of the beauty and diversity of nature.

Under Schafer's direction, the Skydance Studio has developed a variety of interpretive exhibits, brochures, waysides, and images commissioned by such organizations as the Audubon Society, Bureau of Land Management, Clark County Wetlands Park, the Howard Hughes Corporation, National Park Service, Nevada Arts Council, Nevada State Parks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, among others. The studio's educational products and Schafer's images are sold throughout the southwest.

Beyond the studio, Schafer shares her artistic talent and passion for the natural world by teaching art and nature-related classes through Canyonlands Field Institute, Joshua Tree National Park’s Desert Institute, and Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association as well as conducting workshops for the National Association for Interpretation (NAI).

• ARTIST JOURNAL
• ARTIST STATEMENT