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Willow wall
sculptures and mixed media paintings
Born in Los Angeles and a graduate of California State University at Long Beach, Kathleen Otley spent all of her 35-year art career in California before moving to Whidbey Island, Washington in 2005.
Kathleen sells her mixed media art work in shows and festivals in Washington, Oregon and Northern California, as well as exhibiting in fine galleries nationwide. Current listings can be found on the
Upcoming Exhibitions page.
Kathleen works in both fiber and painting and pieces that combine the two media. Her willow sculptures are created from farmed willow that is peeled and dyed before being joined by ropes, metals, and her own hand spun wools. Her fine art paintings may include willow, paper and metal within the composition, layering paint to achieve an ancient-looking surface supporting complex symbology. This body of work is described by the artist as "contemporary primitive". The art is a bridge for the artist and the viewer to connect to the past --to a time when the spiritual journey was the measure of a life, when the human presence was a part of the natural flow of the universe, when our spirit and the spirit of nature were in balance-- striving to find a sense of harmony that continues to live in our collective conscious.
Kathleen was selected by a national jury of gallery owners, craft promoters, museum curators, and fine art and craft professionals to include her biography in the publication “Profiles: Who's Who in American Crafts,” registered in the Library of Congress.
For Christmas, 1993, Ms. Otley was invited by the White House and the Smithsonian to create an ornament for the White House tree. She wrapped fine white branches with silver and gold threads in a "horn of plenty" shape. These ornaments were later put on display in a New York museum and now are part of the Smithsonian collection of contemporary crafts.
Ms. Otley was one of 10 women artists chosen to exhibit past and present work in the 20th Anniversary Retrospective Art Show, a part of the 1994 National Women's Music Festival. Kathleen's work is part of corporate art collections at ABC Television, Apple Computer, AT&T, Pac Bell, Stanford Medical Center, Los Angeles County Courthouse, City of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, and San Francisco Federal Savings.
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