Judith is a world-renowned fibre artist, author and teacher, and originator of  the “Centerpiece Crazy Quilt Method, though Judith is comfortable in many mediums.  She grew up on the historic Bar U ranch in the beautiful foothills of Alberta, Canada. A love of fabrics and embellishments reflect her heritage. Her great-grandmother was a master quilter and her mother taught her needle skills at an early age. She attributes the rich, embellished ethnic influence in her work to living next door to an Indian Reservation and a Hutterite Colony where she observed beautiful handicrafts.  Eight years overseas in England, Germany and Japan was another profound influence on her artwork and outlook.  Judith attended the California State University, Chico, graduating with a degree in art and journalism. Upon graduation, she painted with the San Francisco Art Guild.

Judith made her first prize winning quilt in 1982, winning Best of Show at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was a special victory as her great-grandmother won the same award in 1934.

She began to concentrate on appliqué quilting and “Pekisko Memories” a quilt depicting her childhood home, won Best of Show at the Texas State Fair and the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, British Columbia. She also won the Mountain Mist award, the Margaret Steel award for design and colour, plus many others.  It was presented to the Bar U Historical Museum in 1995 and represents ranching in Canada. At the same time, Judith was running a successful antique shop and tea room. For six years, people enjoyed her European menu and hospitality in an old, converted church. In 1982 she closed the shop to pursue a career in fibre arts.

Her designs soon turned to clothing and crazy quilting. Using rich fabrics, vibrant colour combinations, embroidery, beading and punch needle, original pieces took on a unique style. Judith’s Indian heritage appears in many of her art garments and embellishment projects. Experimenting with materials and sewing machine, Judith created “The Montano Center Piece Method”, a copy write machine method of crazy quilting. This led to teaching classes and her first book on crazy quilting.  Over the years she has become the leading expert on Crazy quilting, silk ribbon and embellishments.

Judith has been honoured to be spokesperson and endorser for both Kanagawa Silk Company of Tokyo, Japan and W.F.R. Ribbons, USA distributors for Mokuba Ribbons of Tokyo, Japan. She was presented with the prestigious “Governor General’s Centennial Award of Canada” in recognition for her work in the Arts and representation of Canadians living abroad.

Her art garments have been featured in Cut from the Same Cloth, the Statue of Liberty Fashion Show and Fairfield-Concord Fashion Shows. Her art garments have traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Far East.  Judith has won many awards for art garments and soft jewelry pieces. She designs for Butterick/ Vogue, Bucilla Company, Mokuba Ribbons of Tokyo, Japan Fox Hill Designs, Treenway Silks, Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

Her work has been featured at the Denver Art Museum; Profiles Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta,; The Dairy Barn, Athens, Ohio; Mitskoshi Department Show, Tokyo, Japan.  Her designs have been featured in Quilter’s Newsletter; Quilting U.S.A.; Sew Business; Quilting Down Under; Needle Craft For Today; Needle and Thread; Creative Ideas for Living; Lady’s Circle Patchwork Quilts; Better Homes and Gardens; McCall’s Needlework; Piece Works; Quilts Japan; Craft and Needlework; Australian Quilts and Needle Craft.  She is an associate editor for Belle Armoire, Art to Wear.

Judith appears on TV shows such as the Carol Duval Show, Simply Quilts and The Quilt Show.  She has produced tutorial videos and dvd’s; “Silk Ribbon Embroidery”, “Crazy Quilting”, “Embellishments”, and “Landscapes”. The videos and dvds are clear, concise information.

Judith’s career has taken her from painting, to quilting, to crazy quilting to embellished embroidery artwork and into landscapes and seascapes and even underwater projects. She is renowned for her fibre landscapes which incorporate all aspects of art and needlework techniques.

As the best selling author for C & T Publishing, Judith incorporates a unique combination of her photography, watercolours, pen and ink illustrations and friendly prose along with her needlework designs and love of colour. Judith is the author of:

1. “Crazy Quilt Handbook”
2. “Crazy Quilt Odyssey-Adventures in Victorian Needlework”
3. “The Art of Silk Ribbon Embroidery”
4. “Recollections”
5. ”Elegant Stitches”
6. “The Art of Judith Baker Montano”
7. “Floral Stitches – an Illustrated Guide”
8. “The Complete Embroidery Stitch Tool
9. “Fibreart Montage, Combining Quilting, Embroidery and Photography With Embellishments” which has won two prestigious awards for 2010: The Benjamin Franklin Book Award for the most outstanding craft and how to book and The International Book  Sellers Award, for the most outstanding how-to-book of the year.

Teaching has taken Judith throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Classes are varied and include clothing design, crazy quilting, embellishments, silk ribbon embroidery and fiber landscape designs.  Judith offers exclusive seminars in her private studio in beautiful La Veta, Colorado.  The seminars are limited to six students and are offered eight time from May through September.

Judith resides in  the small town La Veta, Colorado with her husband Ernest Shealy and an ever-growing menagerie of pets. For classes, lectures or commissions visit www.judithbakermontano.com