Two years ago, at the age of 58, potter Zenzo Fukushima was tapped to become what is commonly known as a “Living National Treasure.” The title, one of Japan’s highest honors, is often misunderstood to be recognition of an individual’s superior accomplishment. In fact, it is a directive from the nation to preserve something that…

Matsumoto Sachiko: Bringing Japanese Crafts to the World by Elle Murrell “The only thing I took to Canada from Japan was pottery. I still remember holding that cup in both hands and experiencing a profound sense of comfort,” she recalls. “My roommate pointed out that I looked quintessentially Japanese, cradling the cup as I drank…

Wrapping Rap by Gail Rieke ’Tis the season… so perhaps you are thinking about gifting and wrapping… I first learned about the Japanese art of packaging from a wonderful book called How to Wrap Five More Eggs by Hideyuki Oka from which I quote ”…the art of Japanese packaging has been disappearing almost as fast…

Contemporary glass artist Etsuko Nishi Specialist in the Pâte de Verre Technique By Dasha Klyachko Etsuko Nishi is a leading expert in the pâte de verre, one of the oldest and more difficult forms of glass making. This is a form of kiln casting, which involves first the preparation of a mould. Finely crushed glass…

By Alice Gordenker There was a Japanese female artist active in Paris in the early decades of the 20th century but chances are you’ve never heard of her. It doesn’t help that most of her work remains in private hands, or that she called herself by several different names. But the carved bowls, vases and…

Contemporary glass artist Miya Kitamura Valuing beauty in the everyday object By Dasha Klyachko Miya Kitamura was born into a family of traditional ceramic artists in Kyoto and was making ceramics from an early age. Though she studied ceramics in high school and college, and was expected to take over the family business, Kitamura felt…

One of Japan’s more established contemporary glass artists, Ushio Konishi, is a world leader in the Venetian lace glass technique. This involves creating glass rods with a ‘lace’ pattern before blowing and shaping the final piece. The rods, also known as glass canes, are made by skillfully and delicately twisting molten glass of different colours,…

by Dasha Klyachko, specialist in Japanese contemporary glass                                                                     Contemporary glass art combined with Japanese sensibility philosophy and aesthetic Although records show that…

Traditional handmade washi paper can be found everywhere in Japan, from name cards to beautiful wrapping paper.  But washi as large format installation art, using paper tapestries up to 50 feet long, brings this ancient process to a new artistic level altogether.

In Collaboration with Photographer, Helen Hasenfeld © Photos by Helen Hasenfeld By Steve Beimel and Rob Schultheis Shigeki and Shihoko Fukumoto are dyeing artists — and husband and wife. They met while in university, traveled and grew together, and now in their early sixties they are known for their innovations in dyeing techniques. These days…