Artist Statement

As a teacher and artist with a background in weaving I have worked in fiber and mixed media techniques for more than thirty years.

The mixed media work I create is about traces of past and future, about layers of meaning, as well as layers of materials. It is about time and place, nature and our interconnected role. Water's edge to water's depths are my time and place. Combining the tactile medium of fiber embroidery with the perceived rigidity of the copper creates an environment that is similar to the contrasts of nature. My goal is to capture brief moments and invite all who view my work to overlay their feelings, memories and experiences. We all have a universal connection with water and are drawn mystically to its special nature.

I use hand and machine embroidery to create an original fabric on a soluble stabilizer. This is used in combination with transfer printing on organza over a handmade paper, plus the addition of many surface design techniques on the copper. It is the focus of my current work and seems to have an endless path of possibilities as does the sea's eternal rhythms.

In October 2000, The Washington Post reviewed Uncommon Threads: Embroidery As A Fine Art exhibit and had this to say, "Others take the preoccupation with surface and texture in a sculptural direction. Pam Sullivan's abstract 'Sea Stories' contrast hand-dyed and stitched fabric with hand-torched slabs of copper foil. They're tough, mysterious, and loaded with presence."

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