About the Artist
Samara grew up making artwork her whole life. Having an artist for a father deeply influenced her. Samara received a bachelor’s and master’s in architecture from Temple University which further enhanced her artistic abilities and added another layer of reasoning and functionality to her work. Through college she was also able to add other skills to her artistic repertoire, taking oil painting and glass blowing alongside architecture classes. Samara uses many different mediums, includingpaper, watercolor, clay (ceramic), wood, photography, glass, wool (felt), dyes, oil paint, and metal. Using these different mediums allows her to choose the best ones for the project she’s working on. Her work has been displayed at venues including the Delaware Contemporary, The MEzeanine Gallery, Delaware Art Museum, and the Blue Ball Barn.
Conception to Realization in Readbourne Stair Hall
Samara has always been fascinated with materiality, resulting in her artistic exploration of various materials, using them to explore texture, color, and perspective. She combines large numbers of smaller, often simple elements into multi-faceted compositions, gaining complexity and space from their combination. In Conception to Realization Samara drew inspiration from objects in Readbourne Stair Hall and Parlor—the undulating pattern of the Anna Maria Garthwaite –designed silk depicted in the gown Ann Shippen Willing wears in her portrait and the intricately rolled paper pieces in the quillwork sconces. The work also resonates with these Winterthur objects made by, or depicting women, drawing attention to the skill and creativity of women makers from the past and today.