Born in 1919 in Los Angeles, Katherine Westphal is widely considered one of the seminal figures of fine art quilting. A dynamic artist, her work incorporates a wide range of mediums, including jewelry, books, paintings, and ceramics. Her folded-paper pieces use photocopied heat-transfer techniques and are often made into unlikely wearable sculptures. Westphal describes her work as mostly autobiographical exploration of her life and travels - the evolution of her carefully crafted works mirroring the lessons of her life. She was educated and later taught at the University of California, Davis, where she retired as a professor emerita in 1979. In 1980 she gave the keynote address at the World Craft Council conference, and her work has been collected by dozens of museums. Katherine Westphal lives and works in Berkeley, California. She received the American Craft Council’s Gold Medal in 2009.