Written by: Joy Waggener
Publicity Chair for 2009 Quilt Show
Charolette Patera's website
Charlotte Patera is famous for her exquisitely detailed art quilts, many of them using designs inspired by the art of primitive people and all featuring precision appliqué skills that amaze observers. Perhaps it should not be surprising, since Charlotte literally “wrote the book” on appliqué back in 1974 when Better Homes & Gardens published her first book, titled simply “The Applique Book”. With the explosion of interest in quilting a few years later, she began giving slide lectures and teaching appliqué at quilting workshops and conferences around the country.
 Different Strokes
The journey began in the Midwest, where Charlotte grew up in Springfield, Ohio, attended Wittenberg College and graduated from the Central Academy of Commercial Art in Cincinnati. After graphic art jobs in Detroit and Chicago and a bicycle tour of Europe, she moved to San Francisco in 1957 to work in the package design and marketing field for Walter Landor Assoc., located on a restored ferry boat at Pier 5. Marriage in 1960 brought a move to Marin County. After taking a pattern drafting class, Charlotte used her sewing skills to tailor a wardrobe of business suits to wear to work.
As Charlotte’s interest in crafts and stitching increased, her work hours decreased to part-time and then free-lance, and a new career was born. In the 70’s, she produced over 250 needlecraft design ideas for major magazines like Family Circle, Women’s Day and Better Homes & Gardens, as well as embroidery kits for Paragon and Bucilla. She became especially intrigued by the mola making of the Kuna Indians in Panama, taking several trips over the years to the San Blas Islands to learn more about their techniques. In an interesting connection to another of our featured quilters, she designed a mola pillow for a Sunset book edited by Christine Barnes.
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When the Bicentennial celebration of 1976 created an upswing of quilt activity all over the country, Charlotte overcame her initial resistance to such large-scale projects and realized that quilts were actually made up of small parts like her previous pieces. Using her appliqué skills, quilt-making was soon her chosen creative outlet and she welcomed opportunities to teach, publish and exhibit. Charlotte's books on "Cutwork Applique" and "Mola Making" were published in 1983 and 1984 respectively. At exhibits and competitions over the years, her quilts have won a multitude of ribbons and awards and been featured in countless magazine articles and books, including "America's Glorious Quilts" and "The Art Quilt". Charlotte has journeyed to the Houston Quilt Festival a total of 13 times to teach and lecture and her art quilts have been juried into Quilt National, Visions, AQS, Houston, Quilt Expo Europa and other exhibits. In 2003, she was honored in Tokyo, Japan, as one of 30 Distinguished Quilt Artists of the World.
 Stumbling Blocks
After living alone for 12 years, Charlotte and her ex-husband reunited and moved to Grass Valley in 1989. Two more books came out in 1995: "Mola Techniques for Today's Quilter" and "Schoolhouse Applique", although all five books that she authored are now out of print. In 1997 she retired from teaching and lecturing, but continues to appliqué and quilt a little for pleasure.
Her website, charlottepatera.com, showcases her breath-taking achievements. In addition to the dizzy op-art designs based on molas, the gallery displays quilts inspired by pre-historic rock art, tile and stone patterns, ethnic designs from several countries and a category labeled "Life Today" – a lighthearted and colorful look at the frustrations of modern life. Other website features are fascinating descriptions of the Kuna people and their molas and detailed instructions for making a mola of your own.
Charlotte Patera has been a major contributor to the growth and acceptance of appliqué and quilting as an art form and we are proud to honor her as a "Celebrity Quilter of Nevada County".
 Close-up of Stumbling Blocks
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