Paulette Sabato is a Materials Alchemist

Philadelphia-based artist Paulette Sabato is chasing beauty and fame in one fell swoop.

Florida-born designer, digital fabricator, and musician Paulette Sabato has no problem admitting that she wants to be famous. But for Sabato, an “earnest fame whore,” how she gets there would be a little different.  

“I've been seeing a rise of musicians and when I see them, I get a deep irk in my stomach because it doesn't seem real. It seems fabricated,” Sabato said. “The fame equation — you need to follow what's popular — but there's a way to traverse that path without falling into the stupid canal.”

Based in Philadelphia, PA, Sabato has avoided the stupid canal through her whimsical, aquatic art, exploring themes related to religion and femininity, as she manipulates materials.  

Sabato’s friend, Therese Tozcek describes Sabato’s style as “mythical and magical,” as she incorporates pastels and visible sunshine in her work, while also deriving inspiration from medieval architecture. 

“I think if Joan Didion writes about American mythology in the Southwest, Paulette is creating visual American mythology for these sun-bleached, swirling random places in Florida,” Therese said. “I wish there was a good term for it, but maybe we'll have to create one: ‘medieval Florida mythology.’”

Sabato began her art career at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where she initially majored in Interdisciplinary Sculpture. In 2021, Sabato transferred to the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, where she shifted focuses, majoring in Jewelry, Metals, and CAD/CAM (computer-aided design & computer-aided manufacturing).  

At the moment, Sabato’s practice has become more defined by digital fabrication, the practice of using digital design to inform 3D production. Depending on the project she’s working on, Sabato taps into her different skill sets. 

“I make a lot of things that are for the home, and I feel like it definitely involves my more sculptural side, but it also involves my more graphic side,” Sabato said. 

Sabato recently curated a show at the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio, a space for “digital arts, cultural analytics, and digital making” at Temple University. The show, titled “Traces,” featured a collection of work that was digitally fabricated using machines at the Studio. Sabato’s addition, “Solar Plexing,” was a digital collage, laser-engraved on watercolor paper, featuring medium density fibreboard (MDF) and found cotton ribbon. The piece is intricate and light, leaving the viewer with a warm feeling. 

“The past year, I've been interested in laser-cutting paper,” Sabato said. “Especially watercolor paper, or more workplace materials like Bristol board which is kind of like sexy cardboard.”

Using unconventional materials to reach different effects, one of Sabato’s professors called her a ‘materials alchemist’ as she enjoys leaving the viewer guessing how a piece was made. 

“I love a translation and I like when people look at my work and I think, ‘How did she make that? I don't understand the process from A to Z,’” Sabato said. “I do think a lot of my work is like a math equation – I'm trying to see what works and what doesn't work.” 

In undergrad, when Sabato was metal-smithing, she used copper and bronze as alternatives to silver, a much pricier material. 

“A big part of metal-smithing and jewelry-making is trying to make things that are literally pennies on the dollar look kind of expensive,” Sabato said.

Sabato experimented by coloring the metal using heat patinas and rock tumblers to achieve opal, iridescent colors that can be seen in her jewelry and homewares.

Josie Newman, Sabato’s close friend from the Tyler School of Art, appreciated working alongside Sabato in a jewelry-making class, seeing Sabato’s alchemy in real life. 

“I love seeing how passionate she is and she has such a specific style,” Josie said. “It's admirable to see what she does with different materials and how she integrates technology within her jewelry making.”

Sabato also wants to make her art more accessible by making smaller, less-labor intensive projects that are more affordable. 

“I know that people might not be able to afford a $200 mirror that I custom-engraved, but I know they can afford a small $15 handheld mirror,” Sabato said. “Trying to meet people in the middle where it's like, ‘I know you can’t afford this but you can afford this.’”

After graduating from Tyler in 2023, Sabato has remained in Philadelphia, immersing herself in the tight-knit art community. 

“[If] you dislike someone, you're gonna see them. You're gonna manifest them and you're gonna see them,” Sabato said. “But it doesn't really breed conflict, it just breeds resolution, which is something that I really like about Philly. It is the ‘City of Brotherly Love.’ I feel like a lot of people are very forgiving, and they're very open to collaborating.” 

Still, Sabato’s homestate, Florida, remains a subject of contemplation for Sabato, both within her own life and her work. The movement and colors of the Everglades permeate her objects, as they shine in blue-green glosses, while Sabato’s upbringing in a Jewish community serves as inspiration for her intricately-designed menorahs and chalices. One of Sabato’s pieces, “Untitled” features a laser-engraved oyster shell, combining Sabato’s interest in the ocean and her technological-oriented practice. 

However, Sabato also grew up in the dark backdrop of Palm Beach, the former home of serial abuser and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, where many young people were preyed upon.

“I knew a lot of people who worked over there, a lot of people who came in contact with Jeffrey Epstein, or a lot of people who were in high school who would be invited over by old men to just go swimming in their pools,” Sabato said. “I've definitely had my guard up, especially around older men, because of so much abuse that was around me – that happened to me or or that I witnessed – so definitely it's something that I will always carry.”

Sabato also saw many of her peers struggle with substance abuse, as many young people in her community passed due to drug overdose.

“I was really around a lot of people who did really heavy, hard drugs,” Sabato said. “I think that's just the nature of growing up in the area that I did.”

After spending some time away from Florida, Sabato said she feels grateful to be safe. 

“I definitely think [my childhood in Florida] influences me and makes me enjoy my sober moments more,” Sabato said. “Florida is one of those places where it's just really odd and it's kind of an indescribable feeling.”

Sabato’s art Instagram resembles a Florida beach haul after a long day of seashell-collecting. Her work shimmers and intricate shapes fill her feed as she documents her jewelry-making and digital fabrication process. However, the artist is currently taking a break from the internet after feeling like it was too much of an influence on her work. 

“I'm not on Instagram currently so I think that has been really helpful for my process,” Sabato said. “Sometimes, going on Instagram, you're subconsciously comparing yourself and compartmentalizing people's work and your work.”

On top of jewelry making, engraving mirrors, and programming 3D models, Sabato is still committed to learning new skills to execute her more fantastical visions. 

“If I find a thing that I want to do, I will stop at nothing to try to teach it to myself or find someone who will teach it to me and I'll try my best to learn,” Sabato said. “If I don't, I just stay up all night and go crazy.”

Sabato is currently teaching herself how to produce and record music in anticipation of a band she and Therese are starting. For Sabato, evolving your practice is the only way to make your art better. 

“If you're closed off and you're arrogant, you're never gonna learn anything new and your art is gonna be terrible,” Sabato said. 

Even in the early stages of their project, Therese has been blown away by Sabato’s previously unseen lyricism and musicality. 

“The poetry that she's putting in her songs, I'm kind of obsessed with right now,” Therese said. “Her writing hit me out of nowhere. I was like, ‘I had no idea you could do this.’”

Sabato is also making a “Bible” for the band, featuring visuals, text, and costuming ideas for her and Therese. Indie Sleaze, 2009’s iPhone boom, and the alternative aesthetics of the ‘80s are big inspirations for their vision. Sabato hopes to emulate the naive and supposedly more authentic way people were using technology in the early 2000s, a stark contrast to how it is used now.

Regardless of the band’s future success, Sabato said she will feel satisfied by following her dreams and giving into her and Therese’s “delusional fantasies of being famous.”

“If it comes to fruition I think it'll be really fulfilling, even if we try our hardest and we only become mediocre, only kind of famous, at least we tried,” Sabato said. “Throughout the rest of my life, [I will be] okay with the fact that I tried to do something that I always wanted to do— be famous and be a singer and be a performer, be bigger than myself, even if I fail.”

Though Philly will always feel like home for Sabato, she is planning on moving to Los Angeles this summer. Sabato’s good friend Maria Dimitroulakos believes Sabato’s work will fit right in in Southern California. 

“She has a really good eye for aesthetics and design so I think she'd be really great working for a team that is in need of that,” Maria said. “I see her definitely bringing her own vibe and aesthetic eye to people, and helping them with their vision.”

However, Sabato still has some exciting projects left on the East Coast before her big move. Sabato is currently assisting artist Kristen Neville Taylor in anticipation of Taylor’s show at the Wheaton Arts Center in New Jersey, and completing a residency this summer at the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. 

“It's something that she's dreamed of doing,” Josie said. “I'm really proud that she's able to do that and I can't wait to see what she does [at Penland].” 

Therese said she is looking forward to seeing Sabato’s next chapter in LA, whether it’s studying gemology or getting her dream job. 

“I hope she gets everything she wants,” Therese said. “I hope she figures out not necessarily where she wants to go in life, but figures out more data to add to her collection.”

In the meantime, Sabato is looking forward to her move and the prospect of making new connections in LA. 

“I just want to learn more. I want to be a better writer. I want to be a better person. I want to be a better musician,” Sabato said. “I want to be a better artist, better designer, and I feel like the only way to do that for me is to talk to people.”

You can follow Paulette Sabato’s art account at @paulettesabato and find more work on her website here. 

Photos are all courtesy of Paulette Sabato.

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