I'm letting things go.

May 11, 2026

Every so often I sell a piece. I don’t actively pursue that side of art making. When it happens I have to figure out how to let it go. I have declined offers in the past. The result is my studio has become a warren of finished and half finished pieces. Sometimes I walk sideways through the aisles. Congestion breeds ideas. I’m never afraid of cutting up one piece to start another. For me it is always about Process over Product.

Isolation Chamber

I watch too much tv news

These two pieces had an important part in defining my practice. The Isolation Chamber started the 3D experiments I am still pursuing. And, I watch too much tv news satisfied my urge to speak out about what is going on in the world. The 14 foot scroll moved through its case in a continuous loop reminding me to pay attention. I’m proud of both. And ready to say goodbye.

I sold one and destroyed the other.

In 2018 I decided to make a series of globes into which people could insert their heads to shut out all distractions and contemplate their inner thoughts. I made two of them. Then COVID hit and I realized that people probably wouldn’t want to stick their heads into something that someone else had tried. It became my personal isolation chamber and I put the project on hold.

And now it is on its way to its new home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I watch too much tv news is still a true statement. I feel an obligation to know what is going on. The insanity leaks into my work all the time. The tv news piece focuses on how we get the news, who is creating the news and how it affects the outcomes of the people living through it. The fourteen foot scroll runs in a continuous loop just as our history does. We repeat. And then again, we repeat. My frustration with the way things are falling apart drove me to destroy the tv cabinet in which the scroll was housed. I preserved the history (as I hope all history is recorded) but let go of the infrastructure of it. I think it would be nice to wipe the structures clean and start over again. We are clearly mired in insanity. Here’s a video of the action.

The destruction of I watch too much tv news

The video, the trashed case and the scroll will all be part of the solo show I will have at the Schweinfurth Art Museum October 31 – January 3, 2027. Join me at the opening on Halloween of this year.

Up and ready

September 1, 2020

Stitched Intent is currently on display in the Mitchell Gallery at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale campus. The show will run until November 6, just in time for voting. Masks are required and social distancing will be enforced. Museum hours: Tuesday-Friday: 10am-4pm, Saturday: 1pm-4pm. Carbondale is about 6 hours south of Chicago, 1.5 hours east of St. Louis and only 4 hours north of Memphis. Looking for a road trip? Stop by and leave me a note.

I love a dark passionate red, don’t you?

SIC-C is my alma mater. I studied design there and started my life with my husband in the surrounding countryside. We farmed tomatoes and peppers and squash on our 10 acre plot. We designed and built a passive solar home, studied organic farming, and tried to live off the land. We were very poor. But the optimism we had for a better future was never stronger. In those days the topics of solar energy, organic food, conservation and environmental protection were getting some traction. The EPA passed laws protecting our land and air and water. The White House had solar panels on its roof. Education was still affordable. And people started thinking that spraying pesticides and herbicides was not really the best idea for our health.

The space in this gallery is wonderful. Each piece has its own environment.

Things have changed. My show reflects some of the angst I feel about how things are going.

I Watch Too Much TV News will play on a loop while the show is up. 14.5 feet of media madness in one little box. Take a seat and rest awhile. — *I Watch Too Much TV News* will play on a loop while the show is up. 14.5 feet of media madness in one little box. Take a seat and rest awhile.

Galleries are better when there are people in them. I’m hoping that at least some take the time to see the show. The museum staff has been very helpful by posting a comprehensive online version on their Facebook page. But nothing beats being up close and personal to works created with fabric and stitch. These works have intentional meanings. These works left pin marks on my fingers. These works call for action.

Do you feel optimistic? click here to tell me how.

The opening reception for my Stitched Dissent show is from 5:30-7:30 pm on Friday, January 17 at the Beverly + Sam Ross Gallery located at the Christian Brothers University library.

Stitched Dissent debuts on Friday

January 13, 2020

Four years ago I plunged into the political maelstrom that is our country more than I have ever done before. Reading reports of politicians lying, watching as closeted racists and white supremacists showed up in prime time, and seeing international relations disintegrate into name calling and resentment, my worries grow large. I’m an independent voter concerned with the environment, education and the welfare of all people across the globe. I vote for people who focus on peace, protecting the environment and who have empathy for those who have great challenges. No surprise, then, that my artwork reflects this focus.

I’m including a short slideshow here of the pieces that are included in the show. If you are in the Memphis area January 17-February 12 I hope you have an opportunity to see the show in person. I’ll even meet you over there to talk about this work if you want me to. We all need to start talking more.

I quilt to piece, layer and stitch a narrative that represents my concern for what is going on in our country. My art reflects American anxiety in a world of danger and distrust. It mirrors the ominous overtones of decisions disconnected from everyday life and a feeling that we are helpless in the wake of unmoored leadership.

I believe that cornerstone American values can emerge through the power of individual voices during the 2020 election cycle. The body of work in Stitched Dissent adds to the fundamental conversations going on in our media, our families, and our government.

Go to the show for your free sticker.

The tale of the crankie

August 30, 2018

It was fate--the day I learned about crankies. Ever since seeing a Red Grooms exhibit at the Brooks Museum in Memphis I have been haunted by the idea of a moving quilt. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about go to this website for a fun trip through crankie land. So here's the tale of the tape for my crankie, I watch too much tv news.

I watch too much tv news

It started with a box of white cloth scraps. I assembled them roughly into a 16 foot scroll.

I added focus points to the scroll by sandwiching colored scraps between the outer layer and the cotton batting. I admit that it was quite random at this stage. I really didn’t know what my story was going to be.

Next step was to stabilize the layers. I stitched along each seam in white or black thread. If the seam was horizontal I added a black thread line that highlighted it to add a sense of action to the piece. There were a lot of seams.

At this stage I decided that the piece was going to be about my anxieties regarding our government and how the media hypes up my anxiety. This initial stitching was about the pussy hat march.

Sometimes the drawings seemed too literal so I tore them out. Goodbye pussy hats. Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong supporter of the womens march. The drawings just seemed too specific.

Eventually the scroll filled up with monsters, money, vultures, disasters, boulders and tv heads. It took about 3 weeks of stitching to get to this point. Catharctic.

I’m not comfortable if I don’t have a project going so when we were preparing for a road trip that would last a few weeks I rolled up the scroll and put it into a bag and carried it with me. Each night I would add more hand stitching.

Details added depth.

With the scroll finished I enlisted my son to do a video of it. We taped it to the hallway wall, mounted a camera to a skateboard and recorded a non-stop video. It gave me an idea of what the scroll would look like in motion.

We even tried it outside with his drone. That’s me ducking as the drone came over the scroll. Crazy.

I started thinking about the housing of the scroll and decided that, of course, it should look like a tv.

My friend, Yvonne Bobo, came up with this brilliant way to configure the scroll in a housing that could be mechanized.

Here is our test quilt in the contraption she created.

My brother, Charles Havelka, refined the set up and built a beautiful cabinet for the piece. He is a master woodworker.

I couldn’t be more proud of the final product. And, I couldn’t have done it without their help. There were times of despair and times of hope and challenge. It’s a folly, I know. But it was worth the journey.

Here's a video of the scroll in its entirety. Enjoy!

Is it the weather?

July 6, 2018

Hot. humid brain. Clouds too full to stay afloat. No focus. Time to walk away from existing projects. Instead, I had a quilt camp week. Two very promising artists participated. We talked about modules, grids, color theory, stitching and machines. They both learned how to build compositions from scraps, thread the machines, trim their work with a rotary cutter and stitch with a free-motion foot. The terms strip piecing, log cabin, and machine appliqué now have meaning to them. They followed the rules and broke the rules. As they should.

Did I say promising? No. These boys had it going on. They fell into the slipstream of stitching with no fear, no preconceived notions and a willingness to learn.

Bravo.

On the sideline I played with their leftovers to create this blue state red state composition. And since I was a bit pre-occupied with making sure that they were safe I had to work fast and without boundaries or rules. No seams, no careful stitching, no worries. I may pursue this practice a bit. I have bundles and bundles of scraps to consider.

Blue state, red state. Work-in-progress. Paula Kovarik

After they left I pursued some of the work I had already begun. A new Glyphs piece (see another Glyphs piece here). These glyphs have bodies.

Glyphs enlarged, work-in-progress. Paula Kovarik

Meanwhile, I watch too much TV news is sitting in my hand-stitching chair. Using a needle to poke into that fabric roll is satisfying. Like a little voodoo panel that lets me get away with commentary.