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

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, silver

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

Something III

Brooch

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

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, oxidized silver

Something III

Brooch

Plastic package, stocking, lacquer, pigment, silver

Something III

Brooch

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

Something III

Brooch

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

Something III

Brooch

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

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

Still life

Brooch

Stocking,
Urushi,
Pigment,
Silver950,
Shibuichi

Still life

Brooch

Stocking,
Urushi,
Pigment,
Silver950,
Shibuichi

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi

Still life

Brooch

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

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi

Still life

Brooch

Cupper, Silver950, 18K gold plating shibuichi, Thread

Still life

Brooch / Wall ornament

Stocking,
Urushi,
Pigment,
Silver950,
Brass

Still life

Brooch / Wall ornament

Stocking,
Urushi,
Pigment,
Silver950,
Brass

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Shibuichi

Still life

Brooch

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

Still life

Brooch

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

Still life

Brooch

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Silver950, Alminum foil

Still life

Brooch

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

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

Floating stone

Brooch

Floating stone

Brooch

Floating stone

Brooch

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

Floating stone

Brooch

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

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

Something II

Brooch

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

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

Vessels

object / vase

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

Vessels

object / vase

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

Vessels

object / vase

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

Vessels

object / vase

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

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, Silver925

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, Silver925

Vessels

object / vase

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

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking, Urushi, Pigment, Sand, Glass, Silver925

Vessels

object / vase

Stocking,
Urushi,
Pigment,
Sand,
Glass,
Silver925

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Something I

Brooch

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

Photo by Yuko Okoso

City

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