Birds of a Feather Artist Profile: Terry Samilson

Bainbridge Island artist Terry Samilson creates stunning work in a variety of mediums. But perhaps her greatest achievements are her fiber art pieces. She told us how she came to love working with this unique material:

My dad lectured around the world and when he would arrive home after a long journey it was exciting to watch quietly as he would unpack his suitcase. Tucked in among his offbeat colored dress shirts and wide ties a swaddle of cloth would be revealed for my mother to ponder for sewing projects. She would turn wool tartan from Scotland into matching kilts for all my sisters, pima cotton lawn from London into smocked puff-sleeved dresses, silk brocade from China into a jacket and Mola blouses from the San Blas Islands into pillows. There were madras and silks of saturate colors from India, ikots and batiks from Indonesia. The glorious world of fibers arrived at our sewing table. Sometimes the fabrics were so precious that they would lay in wait in the closet for years for just the right pattern. Some are still there, too lovely to sacrifice to a pair of scissors.

And so my appreciation for fibers was nurtured during some of my earliest memories. I thought about British and Indian embroideries when conceptualizing my altarcloth for this exhibit. Their use of metallic thread elevates intricate patterns to a level of grandeur that I wanted to achieve for my celebration of endemic birds of Bainbridge Island.