Interview: Pam Poquette
Pam Poquette (she/her) is an artist, educator, and arts administrator in the Hudson Valley, NY. Her work explores observations and experiences in her daily life. Pam received her MFA from the University at Albany, SUNY, and her BFA from The College of Saint Rose. Pam is currently the Administrative & HR Manager at Art Omi. She has been an artist in residence at Vermont Studio Center, Walkaway House, and Vinegar Projects. She is a grant recipient from the Teagle Foundation for her teaching work, and a past fellow at the Mandeville Gallery at Union College. She has exhibited at the University Art Museum, Albany, NY; Joyce Goldstein Gallery, Chatham, NY; The Green Lodge, Chatham, NY; Melrose House, Albany, NY; Collar Works, Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, NY; and Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
Read our interview with Pam below!
Installation View of Pink Sunrise at The Green Lodge, 2024
image credit: Owen Barensfeld
PP: Walk us through a typical day in your studio or generally through your process to make new work.
Pam: I typically work on multiple paintings at once, and I often have some type of experimental work in progress. I oscillate between these depending on what part of the process I want to lean into that day. To make my stuffed paintings, I begin by dying large sheets of fabric outdoors in varying vibrant color gradations. Over the years I have also developed what I call my invented language, which is a series of marks and gestures that I repeat throughout my works. The contour shapes of my stuffed paintings are derived from drawings using those marks. I paint the contour shapes onto the dyed fabric, and begin my painting by building up my mark making, carving out the rest of the painting’s shape. I then cut out the shape, duplicate it, and stuff it with batting and polyfill, and sew those shapes together, like a quilting process. I then respond to that sewn disruption again in paint. These works develop over time, often in small series, having originated from a shared piece of dyed fabric.
hang in there, Acrylic, flashe, and thread on stuffed fabric, 15 x 8 x 1.5 inches, 2022
tender mask, Acrylic and flashe on stuffed fabric on painted gradient wall, 39 x 52 inches, 2024
PP: What motivates you to make art?
Pam: I have always made things, and I cannot see a life where I am not making art. Right now, I am particularly interested in making work that evokes the feelings of a glimmer, a micro moment of joy, that can remind us of the beauty in human connection.
PP: What is your favorite medium and why?
Pam: Sewing and hand stitched embroidery are especially important to me, and it is so exciting to now employ those mediums in my art making. I was taught at an early age to sew, crochet, and create with fiber. I was enamored, and I continued to learn as much as I could, and I studied how to sew garments and create my own clothing. For a long time though it felt separate from my art practice, until I began to sew into my drawings, from which a world of possibilities opened up to me. I still occasionally embroider directly into my work, however much of my invented painting language derives directly from the mark making and designs passed down to me from my family’s stitch archive.
we’ve come this far, Acrylic and flashe on fabric, 60 x 84 inches, 2022
PP: What are ways you support other artists?
Pam: There are many ways to support artists, and I think it is so important to do this in a way that can be sustained. I attend openings, organize studio visits, and engage with artists online. I also try to talk with artists as often as I can about our work itself, and the logistics that comes with being an artist, such as studio spaces, artist statements, and funding, to name a few. I am currently developing a project, Home Studio Chats, dedicated to supporting and promoting the work of artists who primarily create in home studios. I look forward to digging into that project this winter!
PP: Favorite hobby outside of art?
Pam: I love to read! My favorite genre is fiction and I am always up for a book recommendation.
To learn more about Pam’s work, see her Instagram and Website