Kathleen Otley, 71 of Seattle and Whidbey Island passed away on February 3, 2019. She was born in Los Angeles and a graduate of California State University at Long Beach.  Kathleen Otley was beautiful woman, inside and out; and she modelled after college before devoting herself fully to art. She spent most of her 42-year art career in Northern California before moving to Whidbey Island, Washington in 2005.

Kathleen sold her mixed media art work in shows and festivals in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Northern California. Her art continues to be admired and shown in many fine galleries, including: Rob Schouten Gallery of Whidbey Island-WA, Chuckanut Bay Gallery of Bellingham-WA, Two Moons Gallery of La Conner-WA and Earthworks Gallery of Yachats-OR. Her works are also displayed in the public collection of the City of Portland and Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon. An eclectic sampling of her art can be viewed at www.otleyart.com

Kathleen worked in 3D mixed media, including willow sculpture, painting and, most recently encaustics. Her willow sculptures were created from farmed willow that she peeled and dyed before joining with ropes, metals, leather and wire to transform into wall sculptures.  The encaustics are wax, resin, and pigment applied in layers on board and heated to bond each successive step achieving an ancient-looking surface supporting complex symbology, ancient language, birds, stones, willows, hearts and other found objects . Techniques include scraping, carving, painting, transfers, burning, weaving metal, wire work and imprinting patterns.  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.

Since moving to Washington, Ms. Otley has won best 3D mixed media on two successive years at the Salem Art Festival, overall booth/work excellence at Edmonds Art Festival, and best mixed media at Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts.  The three Whidbey Island newspapers have featured articles on at least 10 occasions and newspapers in surrounding areas have promoted their local art shows by featuring Ms. Otley's profile and work, including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Kathleen is preceded in death by her father Allen Martin from Los Angeles, CA and her mother Gladys Rekucki from Minneapolis, MN.  She is survived by her dog, Eddie, many friends and relatives.