Kyoko Takahashi
geboren 6 November 1959
General education. 1973 to 1976 Iwazu High School in Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
In 1990 I moved to England.
1997-1999 Bradford College, HE Access Art and Design, Award/Grade: level 3
1999-2002 Bradford College, BA (Hons) Fine Art, Award/Grade: 2:1
Ausstellungen:
Flux group show June 2000- Bradford
Flux group show July 2001- Bradford
Bradford Open 2002 exhibition-Cartwright Hall, Bradford July-September 2002.
Setting Out 2003- February 2003- Craft Potters Shop and Gallery, 7 Marshall Street, London
Society of Designer Craftsman 2003- February 2003, The Mall Galleries, London
Festival Exhibition- May-June 2003 - St. James’s Gallery, Bath
New Designers-One Year On- July 2003 – Business Design Centre, Islington, London
I am influenced in my work by forms found in the naturalworld. The shapes I create are like eggs and seeds, which are created organically to protect lire from the elements (air and wateT), or like pebbles, which are shaped by those same elements, through the forces of erosion.
Same of the objects reproduce the protective skin of eggs and seeds, hut by slicing into the shapes to expose their inner surfaces, I also demonstrate their vulnerability. I explore the relationship between the surface, the shape and the volume of the objects. The surfaces ofthe objects have simple patterns and are designed to be pleasurable to touch. The colours used are natural colours found in stalles and the patterns reflect ripples in wateT.
I try to create a balance between form, colour and pattern. My pieces are intended für interior displayand to bring an echo of the outside natural world, into an enclosed environment, in the same way that somebody might take horne a pebble from a beach.
I have used T material and porcelain which I have mixed to create my own clay. T material gives the objects strength and porcelain gives them a smoother finish. I have coloured the clay by mixing oxides, carbonates and stains. The objects have been hand built, and then the surface has been decorated, before fIring. The pieces are biscuit fued at 900 degrees centigrade. Before second firing, the surfaces have been treated by sandpapering, to give them a natural fee!. The second firing is at 1260 degrees.
