Shibori Dyed Scarves & Bags

Yuh Okano works with polyester or silk fabric and shibori to create three-dimensional forms or highly textured expressive surfaces, sometimes using metal disks or glass beads. Her polyester textile sculpture installation “Epidermis : Ocean” incorporated whimsical shibori fabric made into objects resembling corals and sea animals in a fantasy under water environment.  Okano studied basic design at schools in tokyo and continued her study at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1991. while at RISD, Okano encountered visiting instructor Junichi arai, who made a great impact on her development. Subsequently, Okano was invited to assist Arai in his teaching in various countries and at the Otsuka Textile Design Institute in Tokyo as a full-time faculty member.  Exposure through Arai’s work to new, technologically orienteted materials and processes helped okano to see the wide range of possibilities polyester offers. Okano began active studio works in 1998, which has included the creation of fabric for costume designer Emi Wada for the Peter Greenaway film 8 1/2 women. she established a textile design company, TextilesYuh in 2000, and has been exhibiting extensively in japan as well as united states, including in “ structure and surface : contemporary Japanese textile” at New York’s MoMA.( by memory on cloth : shibori now, Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada 2002 )