Work

Something III

In this series, my work combines metal, natural lacquer, used nylon stockings and ‘Blister Pack’ (It’s a clear plastic package that used to wrap toys and daily necessities). The materials reference the concept regarding the relationship between artificial and natural objects. I mix synthetic fibers and natural lacquer utilizing the traditional hollow dry lacquer technique, but replace the linen cloth with nylon stocking materials for a smoother curve and a softer feel. For me, nylon and plastic represent the artificial world while lacquer represents the natural world. The organic shapes are formed in blister packs and then covered with stocking material to make them even more ambiguous, and the dry lacquer powder and pigments create a texture as if they were stone sculptures. I also love metal as a material for my work, because it is a mineral that is mined from the earth. I create a linear and artificial form with a metal and then put everything together. This process symbolizes a unique fusion of artificial and natural substances. Although this work is a large brooch however, they are light enough to float on water, making it practical to wear.

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

[available, please ask]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, silver

[sold out / private collection]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

[sold out / private collection]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

[sold out / private collection]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, 24K gold plated silver

[available, please ask]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

[artist’s piece]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

[sold out / private collection]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, silver

[sold out / private collection]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, 24K gold plated silver, nylon thread

[available, please ask]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, 24K gold plated silver, nylon thread

[available, please ask]

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, 24K gold plated silver, nylon thread

[available, please ask]

Something III

Brooch

Photo by Asaco Suzuki

Still life

In a renewed appreciation for the quiet richness of everyday life, I seek to give form to the fleeting fragments of memory and the space between reality and imagination. Through the medium of jewelry, I depict scenes shaped by the familiar tools that surround our daily lives.

Still life

Brooch

Stocking,Urushi,Pigment,Silver950,Shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking,Urushi,Pigment,Silver950,Shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking,Urushi,Pigment,Silver950,Shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950

[sold out / private collection]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi

[available, please ask]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi, 14K

[sold out / private collection]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Still life

Brooch

Cupper, Silver950, 18K gold plating shibuichi, Thread

[available, please ask]

Still life

Brooch / Wall ornament

Stocking,Urushi,Pigment,Silver950,Brass

[available, please ask]

Still life

Brooch / Wall ornament

Stocking,Urushi,Pigment,Silver950,Brass

[available, please ask]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi

[available, please ask]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi, Freshwater pearl

[available, please ask]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi, Freshwater pearl

[available, please ask]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Alminum foil

[available, please ask]

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, 10K, Fresh water pearl

[available, please ask]

Photo by Asaco Suzuki

Floating stone

In ‘Floating Stones’, I have created a series of unusually light brooches based on the motif and soft shapes of gently weathered stones. My image is of stones from a mountain, their shapes smoothed and rounded by the constantly flowing river which carried them to the sea. When I was a child, I found a lot of pebbles like this on the beach and would stuff them in my pockets to bring them home. Since I live on the coast now, such stones are a familiar presence in my life. Recently, the sandy beach below my house has been eroded by strong tides, and the stones are becoming fewer. The idea to create these brooches came to me while musing over such changes.

The contrast between the lightness of the actual brooches and the heaviness of the stones which inspired them comes from the technique I use to make them. A mold for the brooch is taken from a pebble found on the beach but the final shape is made using the traditional hollow dry lacquer technique. The traditional hollow dry lacquer technique was used to produce many of the earliest Buddhist statues in 7~8th century Japan. In the dry lacquer technique, linen cloth is usually used to make the mold, but I use stockings to obtain smoother curves and a softer feeling. So as well as contrast (between the unexpected lightness of the pieces with the original stones), the brooches also embody a fusion of the artificial and nature through my combination of natural lacquer and synthetic fibers. The resultant works are very light because the inside is hollow.

In this series I'm thinking about the relationship between artificial and natural objects. For example, are plastic products and city buildings completely separate from nature? We are surrounded by industrial products and consumables… in our daily lives, but the thing which interests me is the development of technology in coexistence with nature. My work explores the balance and relationship between the artificial and natural by fusing the two.

Floating stone

Brooch

---

[sold out / private collection]

Floating stone

Brooch

---

[sold out / private collection]

Floating stone

Brooch

---

[sold out / private collection]
[artist’s piece]

Floating stone

Brooch

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 24K gold plating silver950, Ceramic resin plating silver950, 10K

[available, please ask]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Ceramic resin plating silver950, 10K

[available, please ask]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Ceramic resin plating silver950, 10K

[available, please ask]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 24K gold plating silver950

[sold out / private collection]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 24K gold plating silver950

[sold out / private collection]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 24K gold plating silver950

[sold out / private collection]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 24K gold plating silver950, 10K

[available, please ask]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 24K gold plating silver950, 10K

[sold out / private collection]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 24K gold plating silver950

[sold out / private collection]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Ceramic resin plating silver950, Brass, Sunstone

[sold out / private collection]

Floating stone

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Ceramic resin plating silver950, Brass, Sunstone

[sold out / private collection]

Photo by Asaco Suzuki | Yuko Okoso

Something II

I imagine an indivisible world. This draws me to explore the relationships between pairs of things, and to focus on expressing the ambiguity around boundaries through my jewellery.

In this series, I’m thinking about the relationships between artefacts and natural objects, high- and low-technology, mass production and one-offs. The combining materials are stocking fabric, plastic, lacquer, colour pigments and sand, using the hollow dry lacquer technique. I combine elements of plastic packaging into an organic shape, then cover the form with stocking fabric to make it even more ambiguous. In traditional hollow dry lacquer technique, the lacquer is usually applied on a natural cloth similar to hemp or linen to make the shapes, but I substitute stocking fabric to get smoother curves and a finer, more delicate feeling.

*Kanshitsu (hollow dry lacquer technique) is used in traditional sculpture, where layers of woven hemp soaked in urushi (lacquer) are moulded over a clay core to build the form. The clay core, is then removed. The resultant works are very light because the inside is hollow. The technique was used to produce many of the earliest Buddhist statues in 7~8th century Japan.

Something II

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Silver925, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Silver925, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Silver925, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Silver925, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Silver925

[sold out / private collection]

Something II

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Silver925

[sold out / private collection]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Silver925, Nickel silver

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Silver925, Nickel silver

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Black ceramics plating brass, Silver925, Nickel silver

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Black ceramics plating shibuichi, Silver925

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black chrome plating shibuichi, Black ceramics plating shibuichi, Silver925

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black ceramics plating shibuichi, Black ceramics plating brass, Silver925, Nickel silver

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black ceramics plating shibuichi, Silver925, Nickel silver

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black ceramics plating shibuichi, Black ceramics plating brass, Silver925

[available, please ask]

Something II

Brooch

Plastic, Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Black ceramics plating shibuichi, Silver925

[available, please ask]

Photo by Asaco Suzuki

Vessels

I made some small vases objects because I'd like to try to think about man through universal tools. We invented a lot of tools from ancient time, especially women related vessels in a house. The vases have functional shapes and poetic atmosphere for me.

Vessels

object / vase

Vessels

object / vase

Vessels

Jewellery

---

[available, please ask]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Stone, Silver925, Brass

[sold out / private collection]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Tinplate box, Glass, Silver925, Stainless steel

[sold out / private collection]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, 24K plated brass, Silver925

[sold out / private collection]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, 24K plated silver, Silver925

[sold out / private collection]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, Silver925

[available, please ask]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, Silver925

[available, please ask]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, 24K gold dust, Silver925

[sold out / private collection]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, Silver925

[sold out / private collection]

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking,Urushi,Pigment,Sand,Glass,Silver925

[sold out / private collection]

Photo by Asaco Suzuki

Something I

In this series, I enjoy to make a shape combine the artifact and the natural objects, the machine-made and the handmade. I choose some shape from the industrial products and I combine them to create a new shape. I used urushi (Japanese lacquer), color pigments and sand on the surface. The resultant works are very light because the inside is hollow. The basic technique came from hollow dry lacquer technique that is one of the Japanese lacquer technique. In traditional hollow dry lacquer technique, the lacquer is usually applied on a natural cloth similar to hemp or linen to make the shapes, but I substitute stocking fabric to get smoother curves and a finer, more delicate feeling. The technique was used to produce many of the earliest Buddhist statues in 7~8th century Japan.

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, 10K gold, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, 10K gold, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 14K gold, Stainless steel

[sold out / private collection]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 14K gold, Stainless steel

[sold out / private collection]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, 14K gold, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, 14K gold, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 14K gold, Stainless steel

[artist’s piece]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, 14K gold, Stainless steel

[artist’s piece]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, 14K gold, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Something I

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, 14K gold, Stainless steel

[available, please ask]

Photo by Yuko Okoso

City

About City...

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[available, please ask]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[available, please ask]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[available, please ask]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[sold out / private collection]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[sold out / private collection]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[sold out / private collection]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[artist’s piece]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[artist’s piece]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[artist’s piece]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[sold out / private collection]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[sold out / private collection]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[sold out / private collection]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[available, please ask]

City

Brooch

Silver925, Urushi, Pigment, Wood

[available, please ask]

Photo by Asaco Suzuki

Garden

In the ‘Garden’ series, I’m principally experimenting with the ideal relationship between man and nature. When I see this, for example in the synthesis of the natural and man-made in a beautiful garden, where the gardeners have thinned out the cedar trees, erected fences incorporating the original trees, and also sown lawns interspersed with concrete surfaces, the perfect balance that can be achieved between nature and human intervention moves me. I want to ask, “How can we, man and nature, co-exist?”

In the ‘Garden’ series, both the materials, silver and synthetic sponge, come originally from under the earth, since synthetic sponge is made from oil. When I use green sponge in my work, I use it to symbolize nature, but actually it is a man-made copy of nature.

This complex aspect of the combination of natural metal with synthetic sponge also raises the question of where the value lies in the piece.

Garden

Necklace

Oxidized silver, sponge, wire
[Selected for Schmuck 2015 : artist’s piece]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge
[Selected for Schmuck 2015 : sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

18K plating silver, sponge
[Selected for Schmuck 2015 : sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

18K plating silver, sponge

[sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[available, please ask]

Garden

Brooch

18K plating silver, sponge

[sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[available, please ask]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[available, please ask]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[available, please ask]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[artist’s piece]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[available, please ask]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[sold out / private collection]

Garden

Brooch

oxidized silver, sponge

[available, please ask]

Photo by Asaco Suzuki

Memory and Oblivion

Perfect house

I chose the concept of 'Memory' for this work because we respond differently to things, remembering some, forgetting others. I'm trying to find my own place now by piecing together the memories of a house, which still linger in my mind. The jewellery becomes a collage of fragments from my fragile memories.

White wheel

Brooch

shibuichi, acrylic painted wood

[available, please ask]

Black window

Brooch

shibuichi

[available, please ask]

Dawn window

Brooch

shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Four window

Brooch

shibuichi, silver

[available, please ask]

Ladder

Brooch

shibuichi
silver
wood
acrylic paint
[artist’s piece]

Perfect house

Brooch

shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Perfect house

Brooch

shibuichi
silver
10K gold
[sold out / private collection]

Perfect house

Brooch

shibuichi
silver
[sold out / private collection]

Perfect house

Brooch

shibuichi
10K gold
[sold out / private collection]

Perfect house

Brooch

silver, 10K gold

[sold out / private collection]

Perfect house

Brooch

shibuichi
silver
brass
[artist’s piece]

White window

Brooch

shibuichi, silver, acrylic paint

[available, please ask]

Where is the value?

Money, power, science and technology, all elements that arise in the process of societies' development, bring both advantages and disadvantages. Our abundant era is also the era of nuclear power, environmental destruction and human rights issues. I want to question what we mean by ‘value’ in our lives. What is happiness? What is wealth? Where can we find value?

These pieces use pebbles, eroded by the waves on the beach. Pebbles, constantly being eroded through the movements of river currents or ocean waves, are a metaphor for evolution. The gold-plated pebbles symbolize lives enriched through technological advance, money, power and science. The veneer of gold will eventually wear off because it is artificially applied to the surface.

Perhaps the un-plated pebbles personify natural wisdom, and have a different but equal value to the gold-plated ones? So, where is the value?

Where is the value?

pebbles, silver-mirror plated, gold painted, resin with acrylic

[sold out / private collection]

Permanence and transience

I want to express the life cycle through these pieces. Life is about transience and permanence. I was inspired by ice floes because ice is a form that water can only hold temporarily. Our lives too are temporary events in nature’s work, like ice in the cycle of water.
Also, the precious things of every day may easily be lost. They are fragile and transient, like snow or ice. Ice is the shape of memories, precious moments frozen in time.

Ice

Pin, Earring

rhodium plated silver

[sold out / private collection]

Ice

Pin, Earring

rhodium plated silver

[sold out / private collection]

Ice

Pin, Earring

rhodium plated silver

[sold out / private collection]

Ice floes

Brooch

Rhodium plating silver

[sold out / private collection]

Ice floes

Brooch

Rhodium plating silver

[available, please ask]

Ice floes

Brooch

Rhodium plating silver

[sold out / private collection]

Ice floes

Brooch

Rhodium plating silver

[sold out / private collection]

Photo by Hiroshi Katayose

The Past and Future

Somehow, forms that haven't changed for a long time fascinate me. For me, such shapes are simple, attractive,lovable. They were invented by someone, somewhere, but now fit anonymously into our daily lives.

Roll

Brooch or Pendant

shakudo
cotton thread
silver
paper thread
[available, please ask]

Pendant

silver
cotton thread
wax
[artist’s piece]

Roll

Pendant

silver
paper thread
[available, please ask]

Roll

Pendant

silver
paper thread
[available, please ask]

Roll

Pendant

silver
cotton thread
[available, please ask]

Roll

Pendant

silver
cotton thread
[available, please ask]

Roll

Pendant

silver
cotton thread
[available, please ask]

Roll

Pendant

silver, cotton thread

[sold out / private collection]

The Ordinary and The Extraordinary

Many layers of distant memories and fragments of emotion, voyage never end completely, but become part of my daily life.

White artifact

A boat

Brooch

shibuichi

[available, please ask]

After a fire

ring

shibuichi, silver

[sold out / private collection]

Black butterfly

Brooch

shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Two

Brooch

silver

[available, please ask]

distant smoke

Brooch

copper, silver

[sold out / private collection]

distant smoke

Brooch

copper, silver

[sold out / private collection]

distant smoke

Brooch, Pendant

copper

[sold out / private collection]

Too much smoke

Brooch

shibuichi

[artist’s piece]

Twilight

Brooch

copper, iron, shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Unforgettable

Brooch

iron, copper

[artist’s piece]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[sold out / private collection]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[sold out / private collection]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[sold out / private collection]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[sold out / private collection]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[available, please ask]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[sold out / private collection]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[sold out / private collection]

White artifact

Ring

silver

[available, please ask]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[artist’s piece]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[sold out / private collection]

White artifact

Brooch

silver

[sold out / private collection]

White artifact

Brooch

Silver

[sold out / private collection]

Bottles

Brooch, Earring

oxidized silver
copper
18K gold plated silver
shibuichi

Bottles

Brooch, Earring, Pendant

oxidized silver, opper, 18K gold plated silver, shibuichi

[sold out / private collection]

Bottles

Brooch, Earring, Pendant

oxidized silver
copper
18K gold plated silver
shibuichi

Bottle

Pendant

copper, linen

[sold out / private collection]

Photo by Rai Shizuno｜Federico Cavicchioli

Sense and Memory

Fragments of memories

printed plastic sheet, 18K gold

[sold out / private collection]

Fragments of memories

printed plastic sheet, 18K gold

[sold out / private collection]

Protection #1

Necklace

stocking
sand
lace
wax
acrylic paint
[artist’s piece]

Protection #2

Necklace

stocking
sand
wax
acrylic paint
[artist’s piece]

Protection #3

Brooch

stocking, sand, lace, wax, silver

[sold out / private collection]

Accumulation #1

Brooch, Bracelet

stocking, cotton thread, silver

Accumulation #2

Bracelet

stocking, cotton thread, wax

Photo by Federico Cavicchioli