A rebel in her own right, Sharareh “Sheri” Chakamian didn’t go with the flow and become an engineer or a doctor as most kids from her home country of Iran did. Instead, she went against the grain and took off on her own path.

She became an artist and an art teacher.

Chakamian teaches adults and children’s art classes in Morgan Hill with students as young as five years old.

Her work focuses on three main subjects: women dancers, flowers and wine bottles. She says she believes that her passion for drawing women dancers gives her the freedom and power of rights that women don’t have today in her native land.

Instead of the typical Iranian path, she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from California State University at Stanislaus and a master’s in business at National University. And, when she prioritized starting a family, it meant she wouldn’t accept just any job coming out of college—she wanted something she could do from home.

“I would draw for [my kids] all the time and they would ask me to draw for their friends ” Chakamian says.

From that, her business was born.

When she and her family moved into their Morgan Hill home, they found a nearby location which has developed into her art studio where she teaches classes in art technique.

“I only paint on canvas, I only use acrylic,” Chakamian says. “The reason I use acrylic is because it dries fast and it’s more abstract.”

Culture Clash

When she came to America 40 years ago in late 1978, Chakamian didn’t intend to stay, she says, because Iran was much like any civilized western culture—a reality that would be transformed in the few short years following her move.

“I came here to go and study medicine and that kind of changed,” says Chakamian.

Over time and continuing to this day, women in Iran are locked in a battle for certain rights such as being able to travel abroad, the choice to wear or go without a hijab in public, and guardianship of children, among others.

“The intention wasn’t to stay, but things changed and I have no desire to go [to Iran] and stay now,” she says.

Art as therapy

She fears the arts are taking a back seat to other more profitable professions here, partly because people don’t know they can do it.

“Potential or not, [people] never believe that you can learn art, but you can learn it. It’s something I can teach,” she says. “A lot of kids by the time they start and the way they finish—it’s unbelievable.”

Art is therapeutic for many people, she says.

“I have students who are deaf, I have students with ADD, I have students with all kinds of stuff. When they come here, they all work,” she says.

Chakamian’s art is featured at Odeum in Morgan Hill, Bubbles Wine Bar, Sinaloa Café and hung on the office walls of dentist Dr. Jernell Escobar in Gilroy.

Inspiration

“There is an artist I was really influenced by, his name is Fabian Perez who does a lot of dancers and women,” Chakamian says. “I’ve always loved dancing—maybe I was a dancer in the past life,” Chakamian says jokingly.

An Argentinian artist currently living in Los Angeles, Perez is known for his paintings of the tango as well as for deeply emotional portraits. Though the two have never met face to face, Chakamian admires his work and has a similar style in her art.

Both portray the passion and movement in the dance moves, but unlike her influence, many of Chakamian’s pieces don’t feature faces. The expression of which she feels still comes through in her paintings.

“I do a lot of dancers because I love the movement,” Chakamian says. “Part of the reason I do them is because I want to show all of the emotion.”

Chakamian is active in the local art community and is a member of the Valle del Sur Art Guild, a collection of visual artists in the southern Silicon Valley that rotate their art throughout the region. Chakamian meets with other artists regularly to learn what’s new and exchange ideas within the artist community.

In an era where technology, athletics, business and marketing hold the spotlight, Chakamian is doing her part to ensure that art and artists receive the well-deserved recognition for their contributions, too.

By Ryan Vermont