Pat Pauly – May 5-7, 2026
Artist website: https://www.patpauly.com
Known for her improvisational technique, Pat Pauly uses bold color and unusual juxtapositions of printed and painted fabric in her work. Her frequent lectures and workshops on contemporary art quilts carry the same qualities as her work – energized, spontaneous, and definitive.
Her textile work – which began in the early 1980s, and was first accepted in Quilt National ’83 – has continued to be seen in major exhibitions. Her fiber art’s distinction uses strong abstracted natural forms and complex color combinations. Her work is in both private and public collections
With a degree in art, and graduate work in design and fine art, Pat chose fiber art as the perfect amalgam of construction, painting and printmaking. She has taught throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia, in design and surface design. Pat’s work is also widely published, and she has appeared in Quilting Arts televised segments. If not teaching, she is found in her studio in Rochester, NY, where she has the best advantage of being surrounded by great artists as well as the beauty of the Finger Lakes.
Hybrid LECTURE: Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 9:30am: Challenge Yourself
The art quilt world is full of bizarre ways to tease out work through themes, fabric choices, or (worst) deadlines. Take a look at how Pat Pauly embraces a challenge, sees a design decision, and comes up with a solution no one else would think to make. And be sure to take notes on how to use a challenge to turn obtuse ideas into your own successful quilts.
IN-PERSON WORKSHOP: Within The Frame: Improvisational Piecing a Center Medallion
Tuesday, May 5, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Wednesday, May 6, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday, May 7, 9:30am – 4:00 pm
Sew improvisationally-made fabric and make either disappear or be highlighted as it is set in a background. With simple methods for scrambling fabric improvisationally with curves, thin lines, and angles, we’ll make a center that will be supported by a framework for a center medallion composition. Work with color, scale, and value is an important feature in bringing the composition to balance. Bold, graphic prints are a useful tool in piecing improv work, as they offer more shapes that maintain the images brought forth, so they are encouraged to be used in this class. It’s a great way to use one-of-a-kind prints.