Patti Warashina was born in 1940 in Spokane, Washington.  She earned both her BFA and MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle (1962,1964).  After 30 years of teaching art in the Midwest and Seattle, she retired in 1995 as Professor Emerita from the University of Washington, where she taught for 25 years.  

In 2012, Warashina was honored with a 50-Year Retrospective Exhibition entitled “Patti Warashina:  Wit and Wisdom” at AMOCA (American Museum of Ceramic Art) in Pomona, CA.   A companion book was published in conjunction with the AMOCA exhibition.  In 2013, the exhibit moved to the Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA, which also received a National Endowment for the Arts grant.

Her honors/awards include:   Smithsonian’s 2020 Visionary Artist Award (Smithsonian Women’s Committee); 2018 United States Artists Fellowship; 2014 “Distinguished Educator” Award (James Renwick Alliance/Smithsonian American Art Institution);  2011 Watershed “Legends Award”, ME;  2012  University of Washington “Timeless Award”;  2009 “Regis Masters” Award, MN ;  2008 “Voulkos Fellow”, MT;  1994 American Craft “Council of Fellows”;  three National Endowment for the Arts Grants (1975, 1986, 2013);  “Lifetime Achievement Award/Woman of the Year” 2001 (Twinning Humber Award)  Artist Trust, Seattle; “Distinguished Alumnus” Award in 2003, University of Washington.  Her personal “lifetime” papers and “oral history” have been collected by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC.   She was given travel grants and invitations by the Chinese (2001), and Korean (2001), Japanese (1978) governments to participate in their cultural exchange programs.  She has received commissioned awards both from King County (1992) and Seattle Arts Commission (1996), and received a “Commendation from the Governor of Washington State” (1980).  

Her public collections include works in The Smithsonian/Renwick Museum, Washington, DC;  Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY;  John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI;  Chazen Museum, Madison, WI; Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC;  Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY; L.A County Art Museum, CA;  Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ;  Racine Art Museum, WI;  the Detroit, Seattle, Tacoma and Portland (Oregon) Art Museums;  the University of Washington, as well as  international  museums such as the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan; Australia’s Cultural Center; and Korea’s Icheon World Ceramic Center.

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