I received a EU grant to visit Poland as a visiting professor at "The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wroclaw" from March 10 to 17. Marzena, head of the ceramics and glass department, graciously accepted my visit and taught a class on kiln casting core mold making to 21 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. In 2012, a new building called the "Innovation Center for Applied Arts" opened, which includes 9 laboratories and 42 classrooms with the latest technology and workshop facilities. Classes were held in this modern building. We visited and discussed ways to deepen exchanges and exchanges between Polish and Japanese universities, and had high expectations for future activities.
The School of Fine Arts in Wrocław has existed as an academic center for over two hundred years. Thus the emphasis was put on ceramic and artistic glass after 1945. Great number of artistic and didactic achievements gathered through the years have built the Academy's position as an art center not only in Poland but also in the European community. Thank you to my good friend Marzena and everyone at the university for supporting my visit. I was honored with the John H. Hauberg Fellowship to have collaborative residency with 6 glass artists at Pilchuck Glass School from May 6 to 15. We focused on own specialized technique, and exchanged knowledge and artistic thoughts to inspire. The many flowers in Pilchuck are magnificent western dandelions, which have "warped bracts", so it is the western dandelion’s character. It reminds me the brave seeds of Japanese dandelion, and I decided to express the ecology of dandelions in the environment here. I was told that its Japanese and western flowers differ in reproduction method, number and size of seeds. Western dandelions are said to have light seeds that are blown away by the wind and travel far. The language of flowers is also meaningful; "sincere love" and "departure". My time in Pilchuck was of journeying into a futurism life and new creation.
Glass Art Society 50th-Anniversary Conference, "Between Here and There", was held from May 18 to 21, 2022 in Tacoma, USA. It was the first experience to attend GAS conference as a board member!! As the largest organization of glassart enthusiasts in the oversea, we had variety of programs and we brought together the community of artists, students, educators, collectors, curators, and scientists involved in the aesthetics, technology, and history of contemporary glass. I would like to thank everyone and my partner who supported and made this a valuable experience. It will be a memory that will stay in my heart forever. Special thanks to my board assistant, Hiromu!
The project "Spinaker 2021-23 - Artistic Spinning" is an international educational program between the Tokyo University of the Arts & The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art & Design in Wroclaw, Poland. The course held between October 21, 2021 to January 7, 2022, and the program was filled with international students who aspire to explore the traditional Japanese and Polish methods of glass. I was in charge of a course on traditional Japanese glass casting. Other courses are coldworking and stained glass by renowned artists, Marzena and Joanna, and hot slumping by Prof. Fujiwara. We had a lecture about the instructor's activities and glass works, and a discussion about our challenges and results.
My heartfelt thanks to my dear and wonderful friend, Marzena for connecting these two countries!! Glass Art Society is an international glass art organization promoting the highest glass art and education. I was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors at GAS in May 2021. I aim to enhance and globalize Japanese glass education system. I plan to tie-up overseas glass organization and to share the knowledge, skills, and our growth. I sincerely hope that young generation will be active in current glass art scene in the world. GAS is celebrating the 50th anniversary in 2022, and annual conference will be in Tacoma, Washington. "We’re proud to announce that all of our nominated board members have been approved to join the Board of Directors later this year. We’re honored to welcome Purnima Patel, Erika Tada, Sunny Wang, Martha Zackin, Leo Tecosky, and Frederik Rombach to our amazing team. Learn more about them by visiting the Staff + Governance page on our website." (GAS Announcement) I attended “Refine: The 5th New Crafts International Emerging Artists Group Exhibition” and “Glass Art Forum” in Tsinghua University, China on Jan 3rd. The theme of seminar was "Materiality, objects and objecthood". I presented my glass works and artistic activities, and discussed how important to bring to the young artists to experience glass in both traditional and new mediums for expression with a variety of processes. It was valuable time to meet many of glass educators and new friends. I appreciate to my professors who made this opportunity.
Ball State University, Indiana State was the last destinations in summer 2019. It was honor to visit as a visiting artist and to hold “Hollow core mold Workshop” and lecture. I had a chance to attend 3D graduate seminar to discuss about the differences of graduate studies between US and Japan. It was nice to meeting ambitious students!! Thank you for such wonderful invitation.
I participated "Visiting Artist Residency Program" at Museum of Glass from August 28 to September 1. I was fortunately received the first prize, "Red Hot 2016 Grand Prize" to work with MOG hotshop team. It was my 2nd visit to Tacoma where is the beautiful port town along a Bay of Puget Sound. Mount Rainier is impressive to tower above its city.
I visited Hastings College, Nebraska, and met Professor Tom Kreager, who is a glass artist and dedicated educator. He has taught glass at college for 29 years and developed its program as worldwide, and he just built new glass studio, is called “Tom Kreager Glass Studio”!!! The studio is located in new building, Jackson Dinsdale Art Center, and it provides modern spacious facility, including computerized furnaces. He has been teaching at many schools includes glass institute in Japan, and his students are all over the world!!
I taught "Inside and Outside", collaborative class with Tomo at Corning Museum of Glass. It was excited to revisit Corning, NY, and to share the knowledge in such a creative and world’s foremost glass environment. Our class was combination of kilncasting and traditional engraving techniques. We explored the unique expression by learning 2 different techniques and had great results! Thank you for such wonderful opportunity!!
Glasswork “Weaving of the Time” was published on the cover of the novel, Amane Nagatsuki, Farewell for a while, by Shougakukan Inc on December 13th. The story is about a hero who has hopes to picture to connect family and a thing that once existed, but now does not. The story is interrelated with my concept of glass work that is to express memories as reliable forms by creation in an original manner. It also sets in surrounding of my hometown, Tokyo Skytree, radio tower. I appreciate to all people who engaged in this publication. Thank you.
We are the recipient of “2018 Instructor Collaborative Residency Program”from Corning Museum of Glass. I received the opportunity to work with Pavlína Čambalová and Trenton Quiocho with assistant Doug Burgess for two weeks. With the full resources of The Studio, we aspired to combine each of our strengths in traditional Czech engraving, glassblowing, pâte de verre, and kiln casting. The project gives us the opportunity to experience new techniques, to share our sensibilities and viewpoints, and to influence each other for the future. We had a productive two weeks blending kiln-casting, engraving, and glassblowing in unique ways. I appreciate to the gift from Corning Museum of Glass. Thank you very much!!
I visited Penland School of Crafts to have a kilncasting workshop from July 23rd to August 8th. It was 2nd visit to the Penland after 13 years of when I was a MFA student at Rochester Institute of Technology. The school holds several workshops, included clay, wood, metal, textiles, books, painting, printing, photograph and glass studio, and almost 300 people gather during the session. It is wonderful place to meet and influenced by artists from different areas. The school was filled with the energy of creation and surrounded by beautiful nature.
My class focused on "hollow-core kilncasting" and expressed our ideas by layering the inner and outer space of glass. We mostly spent the time mixing the plaster and making complex molds during 2 and half weeks. The Penland cat, Tom, made my smiles everytime I see him. Thank you for Penland making such wonderful opportunity, and my dearest TA Sarabeth!! I visited Praque, Czech, my final destination in summer 2016, from September 13th to 17th. I joined to the 8th edition of "Stanislav Libensky Award " ceremony as a juror. The international glass competition has featured many excellent works by graduates from 30 countries and 40 universities since 2009. It aims to develop the glass art in the young scene and to guide the young artists to enter the business world. This student exhibition includes distinguished works that express the beauty of form utilizing the characteristics of glass materials. For students who participated this time I appreciate their valuing of the material and stance of challenging what is possible while facing the materials every day eagerly. It was an honor to serve as a juror for "Stanislav Libensky Award 2016". I appreciate to everybody who supported my visit, thank you very much!
Bay Area, California was my last visit in US, and I taught "hollow-core kilncasting" at the Resource Center Bay Area of Bullseye Glass Company. The city, the coast of California, was radiant and comfortably spaciousness. The last day, I visited the University of California, Berkeley and the Golden Gate Bridge with Sally, who was one of my students. It was dreamy scene seeing the golden bridge in the mists.
I flew to Corning, New York to have a workshop at The studio of The Corning Museum of Glass. Corning is one of my hometowns where I gain my glass career. The first visit was to attend 31st GAS (Glass Art Society) annual conference in 2001. Since then, I have been visited museum occasionally as a student, teaching assistant, resident artist, and instructor. The exhibition, The Marine Invertebrate Glass Models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, was displayed during my stay. The scientifically accurate ocean models were sculpted in glass by Braschka family in the 19th century. The glass objects affected me with wonder in form and beauty of nature.
In summer 2016, I spent significant time that I attended to workshops in US and the Stanislav Libensky Award Ceremony in Czech. My journey, for the duration of 1 and half month, started from Portland, Oregon.
I had a kilncasting workshop at the Resource Center Portland of Bullseye Glass Company from August 9th to 13th. I taught moldmaking techniques, "press-mold" and "hanging hollow-core kilncasting". The facility was well organized and there is limitness of educational resources and glass materials. The center was located adjacent to Bullseye factory, warehouse and headquarters. I toured the factory which has been in operation for more than 40 years, and saw all production processes, melting the batch to casting the sheet of glass. The class ends 5pm everyday, and I explore the district of Portland where is known as an area of urban renewal city. I visited Tacoma Museum of Glass as a visiting artist from March 16th to 22nd, 2016. The reason of my visiting was to develop my sculptural expression by adding new technical possibility with hotshop team. I combined the cast substances, starfishes and rabbits that I made in Japan, at hotshop. The process was smooth because of technical supports of experienced teams, who guide my ideas exploring to the new possible directions. My experience at MOG was ended as one of my precious memories. I met new glass artists and friends, and shared the artistic unlimited possibility of the “Glass”. I would like to say thank you for all staffs at MOG who supported my visiting.
I taught the kiln casting class for 2 weeks at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Pilchuck is beautifully surrounded in a serene woodland, and it provides the time and place to experiment with glass. Since I have visited Pilchuck as a student in 2002, I occasionally joined summer workshop as a student, a TA, or a resident artist of EAiR Program. It is memorable place in my glass career. In my class, we focused on learning structure of molds that is made of multiple parts including core mold and possibilities of expression by layering of the forms in glass. I enjoyed working and sharing our knowledge with students, who came from all over the world, and TAs, Orion and Aimi. Thank you for such beautiful time.
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