Written by: Joy Waggener,
Publicity Chair for 2009 Quilt Show
Katie Pasquini Masopust's website
Katie Pasquini Masopust on YouTube
One of the most famous quilt artists in the world, Katie Pasquini Masopust, lived in Grass Valley for several years in the late 1980’s, teaching workshops and classes from her home and enjoying her membership in Pine Tree Quilt Guild. She moved here from her hometown of Eureka, Ca., where she grew up in a large family that encouraged her drawing and painting. After studying art at the local college, Katie took a basic quilting class in 1977 and fell in love with fabrics and quilting, becoming a prolific quilt-maker and a quilt shop owner in Eureka. As her quilts began to win awards, Katie had a one-woman show at the Humboldt Cultural Center which was featured in Quilters Newsletter Magazine in 1981, followed by an appearance in QNM’s “The Meeting Place” in 1982. Soon she was teaching classes around the country and writing quilt books that illustrated her methods.
 Grazioso
Over the years, Katie has changed her style, moving from traditional patterns to original contemporary designs like mandalas, three-dimensional effects and isometric perspective quilts. Next came landscape designs that were brilliantly “fractured” and then later enhanced with transparencies and color washes. Katie’s most recent quilts are based on her abstract acrylic paintings, bringing her full circle to her beginning as a painter. At each step, the quilts have been honored with ribbons and awards, including Best of Show at the Houston Quilt Festival in 1982 and 1986, at Pacific International Quilt Festival in 1994, People’s Choice at the 1991 Quilt National, First and Second at the AQS show in 1995, and the Penny Nii Award for Excellence at the 1999 Visions show. It was no surprise that Katie’s quilt “Rio Hondo” was included in “The 100 Best Quilts of the 20th Century”. More recent honors have been the Silver Star Award at the 2005 Houston Quilt Festival and Caught My Eye Award at 2006 Visions.
Andante
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Katie has authored eight books to date:
"Mandala" and "The Contemporary Sampler", reprinted by Dover;
"3 Dimensional Design" and
"Isometric Perspective", reprinted by Katie;
"Fractured Landscapes",
"Ghost Layers & Color Washes",
"Color and Composition" (with Brett Barker), and
"Design Explorations for the Creative Quilter",
all published by C & T.
Her techniques have also been captured on a DVD video that teaches
"Simple Steps to Dynamic Art Quilts".
Numerous magazine articles have featured Katie's quilts through the years, including Fiber Arts magazine
"Gallery" in 1983, American Quilters Society cover stories in 1987 and 1995,
AQS articles in 1991 and 1999,
QNM's 15th Anniversary Issue and a series showcasing the "First Quilt" of famous quilt artists.
A recent mention in "from the editor" in the
November 2008 QNM gave Katie credit for expanding the audience for quilt-as-you-go techniques.
Cheers
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For the past 17 years, Sante Fe, New Mexico has been home base for Katie as she has traveled the world teaching workshops at conferences and retreats, including nearby Art Quilt Tahoe and Empty Spools at Asilomar. She teaches in a relaxed but energizing style, passing on her extensive knowledge of design and art quilt techniques to her students and encouraging their creativity. Katie has served as President of the Studio Art Quilt Association and often is called on to judge quilt competitions in the U.S. and other countries. It is no exaggeration to say that Katie Pasquini Masopust is one of the "superstars" of the quilting world and we are very proud to honor her as one of the "Celebrity Quilters of Nevada County".
Triton Bedspread
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