Sarah J. Pavlik is a contemporary quilt artist residing in Lewes, Delaware.
"Like many art quilters, I began working as a traditional quilter, drawn to fabric as a part of my identity growing up in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. As I became aware of quilts as “art” twenty years ago and began to study with Quilt Artist Nancy Crow, I became driven to create original compositions in fabric. I began dyeing my own fabric, sometimes over-dyed three times over, to achieve rich colors like a painter does when creating their palette. I am inspired by abstract composition; shapes, lines, color, movement, and creating visual interest.
I may start with a sketch or a motif or configuration but mostly work improvisationally. Pieces are not cut all the same size or necessarily planned. I cut lines, and shapes with a rotary cutter, which becomes an extension of my arm, and place them on my design wall not knowing ahead what the overall composition might be, working intuitively without rulers. I stand back and react to the shapes, the lines…continually moving them around until the desired composition is achieved. I then take those shapes and lines to the sewing machine to stitch them together. Heavy linear quilting typically finalizes the piece. My goal is to create a composition that evokes movement, tension, and a desire to continue to look at the work."