Birthplace: Pasadena, California
Home: Los Angeles, California
Occupation: Ceramic artist, Educator at Oakwood School, North Hollywood, CA
Inspirations:
I was always interested in the work my dad was doing as a ceramic tile maker. Understanding the requirements of production for tile trickled into ideas of conserving ideas, objects, and histories around me. Both sides of my family have participated in the many histories of this region—being orange grove smudgers, city workers, activists, land surveyors, and farmers. It is important to my practice to be actively aware of the past and its contributions to our present-day life here in Los Angeles.
I find inspiration from visiting the Japanese American National Museum and locations such as the Owens Valley.
Artist statement:
I am a ceramic artist living and working in Los Angeles.
My practice looks at the devastation caused by a systematic misuse and abuse of land in California and beyond. I approach past, present, and future events using the lens of my community with a particular interest in the WWII-era treatment of the Japanese Americans. The motifs in my work emerge from my research into archives that focus on narratives from the Japanese American perspective and its accepted fragmented reality from a post nuclear experience.
Favorite CalArts memory:
During my fourth year, I took a class that met for six hours every Friday. We would go into Los Angeles and look at contemporary art exhibitions. Michael Ned Holte, the professor for the class, is well-versed in the art community and allowed us to converse with curators and directors of art space. Then we’d discuss what we saw and engage in a critique that was usually followed by presentations. Another favorite memory: Creating relationships with classmates and professors when Ellen Birrell invited us to her beautiful ranch to listen to live music and eat great food in a house of artists.
Venues:
How to Twiddle Twaddle Raw or Grow/Twister Raw Group show at David Horvitz 7th Ave Garden, Los Angeles, CA
Studio Sachi, Craft Contemporary Gift Shop, Los Angeles, CA, Craft Contemporary Benefit Auction, Craft Contemporary, CA
Spring Break Art Show, Los Angeles, CA, Luna Anais Gallery, CCCM Consulmex LA, Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles; Imagine Entertainment, Beverly Hills, California; Getty Center, Los Angeles; Mint Gallery and D301 Gallery, California Institute of the Arts; Leiminspace gallery, Los Angeles