Maker Crush Monday

Today's Maker Crush is Satomi Kawai. I feel in love with Satomi's work when I first saw it, sometime in graduate school. We have similar formal interests: enamel, string, asymmetry, surface and even printmaking. She achieves that visual poetry I strive for in my own studio practice. Her surfaces are so subtle and nuanced. Lord knows I love an atmospheric enameled surface. I also love her use of string and stitching, and the simplicity of her asymmetrical compositions. By keeping the overall design fairly minimal, you're sucked into the details of the surfaces.

Satomi was born in Japan, and has traveled a good part of the word. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with her at both the SNAG conference in Phoenix, and later when we participated in Sieraad together in Amsterdam last fall. She's very much an observer, always taking photographs and always asking questions. She's a true investigator of her environment. I love these excepts from her artist statement:

"Substances in and outside of the body consist of solid and fluid, and something in between.  Also, substances transform as a solid becomes fluid, and fluid becomes gas.  Over time, matter changes color, pattern, shape/ form, and substance.  This macro process in an external environment- nature- is reflected by the micro environment in our own bodies, including cell activity.  By exploring the internal environment, I focus my observations on several layers of personal femininity, including the physical, emotional, and psychological quality of being a woman.

 My home is my body.  My body is connected to nature. As I observe life and nature, I see moments I want to capture in my art.  These moments become jewelry pieces, and they can be shared when the jewelry pieces are worn.  Ultimately the wearer is reconnected to nature."

Maybe that's all art is or needs to be; a connection to something be it nature, the past, our shared history, a higher power or even our own selves. Maybe this simplistic elegance is something I can strive for in my own work.

Check out more of Satomi's awesome work here!

Thanks for reading!

Femininity I, 2008-2012

Femininity I, 2008-2012

Femininity I, 2008-2012

Femininity I, 2008-2012

Femininity II, 2013

Femininity II, 2013

Femininity II, 2013

Femininity II, 2013

Femininity II, 2013

Femininity II, 2013