"Textured Scarf - Rust and Bordeaux"

Laura Hunter

"I think of my scarves as translations of where humans and landscape meet."

Agriculturally sculpted hills of the Palouse region in eastern Washington captured Laura Hunter's attention two decades ago. The undulating repetitive lines and shadows were mesmerizing and punctuated by geometric shapes such as rectangular and circular hay bales and barns with worn siding. It represented the conjunction of humans and the landscape which continues to form the essence of her artistic impulse.

Soon she began exploring the Japanese binding and dying technique called shibori. She found that similar lines and shadows could be created in silk with the arashi shibori pole wrapping technique. Itajime shibori, a folding and clamping technique, provided the geometric punctuation. Repeated dying and stripping away color even seemed to echo the weather. These processes proved to be as fascinating as the landscape.

Hunter has a BFA from the University of Washington in fiber art. She is self taught in the technique of shibori.