Sarah J Pavlik
Contemporary Quilt Artist
Sarah J. Pavlik is a contemporary quilt artist living in Lewes, Delaware.
You are welcome to visit Sarah's studio during the Lewes Artist Studio Tour which occurs on the third Saturday of September each year.
Like many art quilters, Sarah began working as a traditional quilter, drawn to fabric as a part of her identity growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota. As she became aware of quilts as “art” over twenty years ago and began to study with Quilt Artist Nancy Crow, she became driven to create original compositions in fabric. Typically working in solid colors, fabrics are used like paint with a wide range palette required for her work. Sarah is inspired by abstract composition with shapes, lines, color and movement. More recently Sarah has been exploring surface designed fabrics that she has created by layering dye and/or paint with various methods resulting in a myriad of colors and textures.
Sarah may start with a sketch or a motif or configuration but mostly works improvisationally. Pieces are not cut all the same size or necessarily planned. Sarah cuts lines and shapes with a rotary cutter, which becomes an extension of her arm, and places them on her design wall not knowing ahead what the overall composition might be. She works intuitively and for the most part, without rulers. As part of the process she will stand back and react to the shapes and lines…continually moving them around until the desired composition is achieved. She then take those shapes and lines to the sewing machine to stitch them together. Heavy linear quilting typically finalizes the piece. Sarah's goal is to create a composition that evokes movement, tension, and a viewer's desire to continue to look at the work.