Katie Otto
Iowa City, IA
Katie Otto is an Iowa-based metal and fiber artist, who works with tin and wheat. Katie’s artistic journey started when she was young, and she comes by the love for creation naturally. Her path to tinsmithing started by taking a blacksmithing class in West Amana and working the forge at the Homestead Blacksmith Shop. While honing her skills working with metal, she was introduced to Master Tinsmith Bill Metz. In 2009 she started an apprenticeship with Bill and worked with him for over a decade. Looking to expand her creative outlets, Katie began wheat weaving in 2021, and is a self-taught weaver. She enjoys researching and connecting her art to her heritage, as she finds it important to continue the legacy of the old ways, so future generations can enjoy these arts and keep them alive.