Laura Wilund Adams

“Heavily layered paper collage on canvas.” These words are how Laura Wilund Adams described the unique art form she developed and mastered for the past thirty years. Collecting colored and textured papers from around the world, especially Japanese washi papers, she would cut them, tear them, wet them in acrylic, and blend them together into exquisite scenes of nature and portraits of birds, bears, and other animals. Beloved across the country, her work reflected a deeply intuitive and nuanced feel for light and depth, color and texture.

Laura was born on October 9, 1963, to Patricia Pautsch Wilund and Robert Lee Wilund in Sioux City, Iowa, where her father was studying architecture. Laura’s parents, high school sweethearts, were raised in Waterloo, Wisconsin, and Laura’s early years and later summers in Wisconsin forever rooted her in midwestern values.

The family moved frequently to accommodate her father’s career; Laura attended elementary and middle school in Atlanta and high school in Myrtle Beach. She developed a fierce tennis talent and played competitively for the University of South Carolina, later winning the South Carolina state championship in league play. Though she envisioned herself as an artist and photographer, she opted initially for a “practical” path and earned a law degree from Emory University. During a year in Santa Fe, she worked on a lawsuit between Georgia O’Keeffe’s heirs and her younger companion, Juan Hamilton. Laura later practiced employment law in Savannah.

Revisiting her early dreams of a creative career, Laura began exploring photography but found inspiration when she experimented with tearing up her prints and reassembling them into collages. The technique led to her signature creative style. Laura was a working artist for over three decades, represented by galleries across the country, and the owner of Atlanta’s Brickworks Gallery.

A skilled, passionate birder whose life list exceeded one thousand species, Laura curated the acclaimed 2021 exhibition “Three Billion” at the Hudgens Center for Art in Duluth, Georgia. The show brought together ten renown artists reflecting on the loss of more than a third of North America’s bird population since 1970. An avid naturalist, Laura felt most alive amidst the woods, waterfalls, and trails surrounding her cabin outside Cashiers, North Carolina.

Laura was an intuitive cook who eschewed recipes, used New Mexican chile powder liberally, and had a special talent for working wonders on a simple charcoal smoker. She was a dog lover deeply bonded with her beloved Blue Berry and Vera.

Laura met the documentary photographer Andrew Feiler at a party in Savannah in 2010. Moving back to Atlanta, she and Andrew built a wondrous life together filled with art, food, adventure, and travel. They experienced the sandhill crane migration in Nebraska’s Platte River valley; trekked Alaska’s remote Dalton Highway truck haul road; climbed Hawaii’s Nepali Coast; hiked Italy’s Cinque Terre; kayaked France’s Dordogne River; and watched the birth of a giraffe in Tanzania. Andrew encouraged Laura as her work became increasingly complex, emotional, and imbued with her passion for the environment; Laura encouraged Andrew as he found his voice fusing history, image, and prose. Each of them would say with frequency that they were better artists and better people because of each other. They agreed that their fourteen years were the best years of their lives.

When Laura and Andrew married in 2018, they requested no gifts. Their families and friends had other ideas and collected funds to commission an artwork in honor of their union. Created by local artist Chris Condon, "Canis Rufus", a mixed-media sculpture featuring three wolves, stands on the eastside trail of the Atlanta Beltline in tribute to their passion for fusing environment, history, and art.

Laura brightened every room she entered. She had an infectious smile, uplifting spirit, shining optimism, and incisive humor. When she was diagnosed with leukemia in June 2025, she drew on that spirit. Her doctors, nurses, dearest friends, and closest family were in awe of how she kept up her smile and humor. Laura passed away at home on March 27, 2026, surrounded by her husband, family, friends, and her wonderful, sensitive dog, Vera. She was 62 years old.

A celebration of life will be held at The Temple in Atlanta on April 19, 2026, at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes contributions to Birds Georgia (birdsgeorgia.org) or PAWS Atlanta (pawsatlanta.org).

Laura is survived by her husband, Andrew; her brothers Larry Wilund (Jean) and Kenny Wilund (Karen); mother-in-law, Jane Feiler; brother-in-law, Bruce Feiler (Linda Rottenberg); sister-in-law, Cari Feiler Bender (Rodd); nieces and nephews Bobby Wilund (Kaitlyn), Brittany Wilund, Carolyn Wilund, Jake Wilund, Candace Wilund, Max Bender, Hallie Bender, Eden Feiler, and Tybee Feiler; grand-niece Ophelia Wilund and grand-nephew Samuel Wilund.