I was born in Japan. When I remember my childhood there were a lot of antiques and special ceramics in our house. My mother was a flower arrangement teacher and my sister practiced the tea ceremony, so they collected vase and tea bowls and some of them were wood fired pieces. Wood fired ceramics saturated my life. Before I started making ceramics I had been making jewelry for 10 years in Japan. After I moved to the United States I started making ceramics. When I would travel back to Japan I visited wood firing artists and they showed me their work, kilns and studios and they talked about their firing processes.
Wood firing is and and challenging work, splitting wood, loading the pieces and stoking the wood into the kiln for as long as 10 days non stop. With each firing we try to find new possibilities to fire for the best results. We try to help each other during the hard circumstances of firing which I love. After firing my pieces and unloading the kiln I'm excited to see the natural appearance, wonderful colors and patinas of the pieces. I pursue my aesthetic with wood firing and I enjoy using the work I create in my daily life like my mother and sister.
