Edmonds Arts Festival Celebrates Wonders Beneath the Waves
Artist Mona T. Smiley-Fairbanks creates “Tidal Captain” for the 2025 Edmonds Arts Festival Poster
Edmonds is a true gem of the Pacific Northwest, with breathtaking views, sandy shores, and a lively waterfront. But what lies beyond the shimmering surf? Some might say the town’s most captivating beauty is hidden in the world below the waves.
Underwater Edmonds is alive with movement and color — schools of fish dart and weave, scuttling crabs hide in the seagrass and sea stars add bursts of bright color. Playful harbor seals roll and frolic, while a shy Pacific Octopus peeks curiously from its hiding place. Towering forests of bull kelp sway gracefully in the current, their long stems stretching towards the sunlit surface, casting a golden glow through the waves.
This is the world that has captured the imagination of Mona T. Smiley-Fairbanks, the Edmonds Arts Festival’s 2025 Featured Artist. Born and raised in North Seattle, Mona has always been an adventurous spirit with a deep appreciation for the beauty of native flora and fauna. Early in her career, she worked as a graphic designer at Nordstrom, but after a decade, she chose to focus on raising her family in Edmonds. This shift led her to explore new artistic avenues, expanding her creative expression through painting, sculpture, printmaking, and fiber art.
Mona is passionate about enriching the Edmonds art community. She brought color and life to the city with large-scale outdoor installations, including bright, oversized sea stars adorning the Frances Anderson Center fence and a striking mural of rockfish in downtown Edmonds. As a longtime participant in the Edmonds Art Studio Tour, she welcomes visitors into her creative space. Also, for the past 25 years, Mona has worked closely with the Edmonds and Shoreline school districts, securing grants, collaborating with teachers on core curriculums, and encouraging children to connect with their local environment.
Mona continues to inspire and engage audiences with her paintings, shining a light on threatened and endangered species of the Pacific Northwest. This year, her poster art highlights bull kelp and their vital role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems. While bull kelp is declining in some areas, Edmonds remains one of the few places where these underwater forests still thrive. Through her art, Mona hopes to foster a deep emotional connection to the beauty, wonder, and fragile balance of marine life, inspiring people to protect the sea and all that depends on it.
As the Festival’s 2025 Featured Artist, Mona’s paintings will be on display and for sale in the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation Gallery at the Frances Anderson Center. You can see more of Mona’s art online at monafairbanks.weebly.com or on Instagram @ monafairbanksstudio.
The 2025 poster will be available for purchase during the Edmonds Arts Festival at the Festival Store. The Edmonds Arts Festival will run Father’s Day weekend, June 13-15, 2025 at the Frances Anderson Center, 700 Main St., Edmonds. Learn more at edmondsartsfestival.com.