COMBOSATIONS
a DUO exhibition by Sharon Bloomfield Hicks & Meryl A. Joblin
Exhibition Runs November 4th - November 22nd
Opening Reception Saturday, November 7th from 5 - 7 PM
Meditative Making: BYOB (Bring your own Branch) Workshop Saturday, November 14th from 1 - 3pm
Closing Reception & Artist Talk Sunday, November 22nd from 12 - 2 PM
About the exhibition:
When they met in 1994, Meryl A. Joblin was a speech therapist, and Sharon Bloomfield Hicks was a vision therapist. When their paths crossed, they exchanged healing sessions and art. They reunited in 2025 and have been developing their practices, both as artists and as healers, ever since. “COMBOSATIONS” is an exhibition of work by Hicks and Joblin that has been not only collaborative in exhibition but in process. With decisions made in sync and synchronicity, the work on view demonstrates how art and exchange—that is to say, friendship—are at the heart of healing.
Working across painting, fiber, and fabric, both artists use an intuitive, integrative approach to combine various materials and fragments. Joblin repurposes fabric and branches of personal and symbolic meaning that she has collected. Hicks repurposes her paintings and knitting explorations. Both artists transform their materials by stitching or weaving them together to uncover new meanings. The exhibition includes spiritual practice and blessings. An interactive installation explores the experience of healing. And a corresponding transformative arts workshop further explores healing through a guided meditation and making “magic healing wands” from participants' own found branches.
“Our collaborative process is punctuated by intuitive ‘aha’ moments — moments of remembering and moments of discovery,” Hicks says of “COMBOSATIONS.”
About the artists:
Meryl A Joblin, aka Anael Atara Yotseret Sheleymut-Mayimah, is a shamanistic artist and healer. Originally a speech pathologist, she's developed a holistic approach to self-empowerment based on what she's synthesized from trainings in Jewish meditation, chant leadership, yoga, sound healing, the Native American medicine wheel, the "embodied present process", and Yerusha Wisdom school. She became an Eshet Hazon (woman of vision) in 2022 and is known for her unique necklaces, holy healing headpieces, her transformational branch garden and leadership of Creativity Commune. She also creates ceremonial prayer garb, wall hangings, and multimedia assemblages. She has participated in various holistic and artistic venues, including the Malvern Retreat House Juried Art Show, 2016 through 2019. Her prototype for a copper wire and beaded chuppah is part of the permanent collection of the Jewish Museum in Southern Florida.
Sharon Bloomfield Hicks is a Philadelphia-based painter and fiber artist who channels the felt experience of her Jamaican heritage into dynamic abstract compositions radiating with vibrant colors. With formal art training and a background in vision therapy, she blends visual art and healing practices to create uplifting works reflecting her quest for harmony. Sharon holds a BFA in painting from Tyler School of Art and an MS in occupational therapy from Philadelphia University. She completed an apprenticeship at the Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia and graduate coursework at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. Sharon has exhibited her work in solo shows at Philadelphia area venues including Da Vinci Art Alliance and Third Street Gallery. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at the Delaware Contemporary, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.