Exhibit spotlights work of Lewes quilt artist Sarah Pavlik thru Aug. 27
Historic Odessa Foundation announced an exhibit, The Ongoing Journey of Contemporary Quilt Artist Sarah Pavlik, on display through Sunday, Aug. 27, in the gallery at its visitor center, 201 Main St., Odessa.
The exhibition features 36 pieces of work by Pavlik, a quilt and fiber artist from Lewes. It includes contemporary pieced and quilted works ranging from bold, solid-colored fabric to examples from Pavlik’s journey into surface-designed fabric. Many pieces from her Childhood series are represented as well as work completed using earth pigments as paint, with soy milk acting as the binder to the fabric, and techniques with acrylic paint, dye and ink.
Pavlik’s studio practice typically involves using a motif or configuration as inspiration in creating a composition. She explores the possibilities, often improvising to create new configurations. She strives for figure-ground tension and a composition that encourages viewers to move their eyes around the piece, finding interest throughout the work. Once the piece is completed, it is quilted, typically with dense amounts of stitching as complement. Making art quilts requires both creative thought and expertise in their construction. Pavlik continually explores new territory by working in a series, modifying piece after piece.
In her Childhood series, Pavlik explores a ladder motif. Sometimes it is quite literal, and other times it is broken, reconstructed and almost unrecognizable. For Pavlik, the ladder symbolizes a quest for progress, growth and action. Falling off the ladder, a broken rung, and the idea of the top of the ladder that is never quite reachable are meaningful concepts for her. There is always more work to be done, and life is a never-ending journey of self-discovery.
Pavlik continues to evolve as an artist, pushing herself to create new work in her own artistic voice. She alternates between pieced work with solid-colored fabrics and the use of surface-design techniques such as thickened dyes. Pavlik has also been exploring the use of organic resists to create patterns and shapes, resolving the final piece with machine and/or hand stitching.
Pavlik developed a love for art quilts once she became a student of world-renowned quilt artist Nancy Crow. She has now been studying with Crow for over 20 years and more recently with other artists including Claire Benn of the United Kingdom and David Hornung of New York.
Since beginning this art form, Pavlik has won numerous awards and exhibited her work at galleries in the Washington, D.C. area, West Virginia, upstate New York, Indiana and Delaware. She is a member of the Lewes Artist Studio Tour where artists open their studios to the public every year on the third Saturday in September.
For more information, go to historicodessa.org and sarahjpavlik.com.
