The Art Box - Episode 392 - Threading the World: Travel, Texture & Taking the Leap

In this episode of The Art Box, we sit down with Southern Utah fiber artist Paulette Schermerhorn, whose vibrant fabric collages stitch together travel, photography, and a lifetime of curiosity.

After more than 30 years as a registered nurse, Paulette answered the quiet call of creativity and began exploring fabric as fine art. What started as traditional quilting evolved into richly layered textile works that blend printed photography, hand-dyed fabrics, thread painting, and beadwork. Her pieces celebrate the diversity of people, animals, and landscapes she encounters across the globe, from beloved Bernese Mountain Dogs to the cultural textures of distant countries.

Paulette shares how mentorship, risk-taking, and a willingness to “let the fabric tell her where it wants to go” have shaped her artistic voice. We talk about art as conversation, about being misunderstood in a nontraditional medium, and about finding joy in movement, nature, and human connection.

This is a story about courage, late-blooming creativity, and seeing the world, then stitching it into something others can experience too.