Terry Olson
Terry Olson, a native Oregonian, learned to weave tapestry from Audrey Moore at the Damascus Fiber Arts School over 30 years ago. She participated in workshops with top-notch tapestry instructors like Archie Brennan, James Kohler and Sarah Swett, while also learning everything she could find on her own. Terry began teaching tapestry at DFAS and assisted Audrey Moore in running the school for over 25 years. She is currently the lead instructor and serves as an advisor to the Board of Directors. As a member of the American Tapestry Alliance, Terry served as Chair of the Small Tapestry International 3 exhibit, and as Director of Education for nearly eight years. She has exhibited widely, including juried and invitational shows, locally and nationally. She is a founding member of the Willamette Tapestry Artists.
Artist Statement
As a lifelong Oregonian, I am inspired by the natural beauty I see daily. An artist once told me that the way to learn art is to start by observing everything. I continue to practice this skill, incorporating what I see into my tapestry work.
A “maker” from a family of makers, I chose handwoven tapestry as my medium because I love using fiber to create art that is also a textile, making something solid from strings instead of applying paint to a surface. The variety of techniques, of subject matter, of colors and textures, all contribute to keeping my work exciting and fresh. Contemporary tapestry is warm and inviting, not something just used to cover the castle walls, but to ask the viewer to look closer, to feel the textile figuratively and literally.
Whether the tapestry is realistic, like a landscape of Mount Hood, figurative like a portrait of a person or animal, or abstract like a geometric shape, I will weave what interests me. I hope the viewer is also interested and wants to see more.
Portfolio
