Kerry Cook began cutting silhouettes professionally at the early age of ten. On August 11, 1974, at an Arts & Crafts fair at Aurora Village, in Seattle's north end, Kerry made her artistic debut -- happily absorbed in her work, and oblivious to the long line of people waiting for silhouettes.

Before her eleventh birthday Kerry had already added five county fairs and a holiday bazaar to her resume, and by the time she graduated high school she was an eight-year veteran artist, with a good command of likeness and style.

Kerry's parents were both working artists. Her mother, Donna M. Cook, is a portrait artist, and it was out of her portrait booth that Kerry worked at art fairs, county fairs and holiday bazaars throughout her teen years.

One of Kerry's very first silhouettes.  Freehand cut in public,  August 11, 1974, when the artist was 10 years old.

After graduating from the University of Washington in 1987, Kerry spent a number of years abroad, teaching English literature and traveling the world.  She has cut silhouettes everywhere from the rural Philippines to the heart of Anatolia; from Spain, to England, to Guam.

In 1999 Kerry returned home to Seattle, and turned her attention to art and writing.  She now cuts silhouettes in schools, daycares, and private homes around the Greater Seattle Area.

Very few artists in the country can match Kerry's more than 35 years experience.  Her careful attention to detail, and her ceaseless efforts to improve her skills -- to make sure every silhouette she cuts is her best work -- make her unique among the dwindling numbers of silhouette artists still working today.