Pam Lipe, Textile Artist, creates art with layers of fabric and thread then adds a touch of whimsy, just for fun. While she has sewn most of her life and dabbled in drawing, wearable art and bead weaving, she began to hone her style in creating art quilts after she retired from her career as a Clinical Psychologist in 2015. She was recently honored when one of her art quilts, entitled Voting Line, was presented to the President and First Lady of Costa Rica in a gift exchange when they were visiting Minnesota. Pam uses her own hand-dyed fabrics, as well as commercial fabrics, in her quilts. She adds texture to them with machine and hand stitching. Her subjects are abstract as well as pictorial. For fun, she enjoys travel and on a recent trip to New Orleans, she learned the art of the Second-Line Dance with a New Orleans Brass Band. Pam is a resident of Lowertown, which is St Paul's Historic Arts District.
About the exhibit simply entitled “Whimsical Chickens.” Pam lived on a hobby farm in River Falls, WI where she, for the first time, kept a variety of chickens in different colors, sizes and personalities. She enjoyed their companionship and antics as well as their colorful eggs. This exhibit is inspired by these remarkable fowls. She started each image by using acrylic paint to cover a canvas, then glued fabric pieces in random patterns. She used photographs of her own chickens to draw the different roosters and hens in positions that replicated what she saw on the farm. Then machine stitching was used for raw edge applique. For example, one hen is shown with the chicken coop behind her. Another is a rooster seemingly floating in the air (self-titled as Number 1 Chicken). Another image shows a rooster in the garden, happily searching for worms and insects. Finally, the last one shows Ms. Hen taking a vacation from the farm when she seems to show up in New Orleans.
OPENING RECEPTION
East Side Arts Council
977 Payne Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55130
May 7 at 6-7:30 PM
*Light refreshments provided at the opening reception.
On view May 7-July 31, 2026
Pam’s other exhibits include:
· The Art of Mental Health, February 2025 in Minneapolis showcasing the creative work of artists who practice in the field of mental health.
· A one-artist exhibit of her work including the Whimsical Chicken series, January 2019 in the Lowertown Underground Artists Gallery.