MASAKO NAKAGAMI

Nakagami works in a range of techniques including hand building and wheel throwing. Her ceramics are largely crafted from clay dug from the mountains around her studio. Hand-thrown on the wheel, Nakagami’s sublime miniature nest vases are then hand-carved with soft lines, giving them a unique yet subtle character. Their surfaces are created by mixing glaze into porcelain and polishing, creating curved forms in expressive surface textures which are alternately smooth and rough. Inspired principally by the world around her and the movements within it, natural forms are explored heavily in the recurring flowing lines of Nakagami’s ceramics, which draw on patterns repeated and exemplified within the natural world. Her technique of fluting occurs when the clay is leather-hard with a loop tool. In this way, Nakagami’s fluted works exhibit grooves which intensify the tactile nature that their scale invites, highlighting their soft and curved forms. Mimicking the movements of nature that surround her studio, her preference for lines with fluidity and dynamism recalls the flow of rivers and streams that lie in the local area.