Hiromi Minemura
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Hiromi was born and raised in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. For 13 years before coming to the U.S., she worked as an overseas tour guide. She was exposed to the cultures, customs, and values of many different countries, and it was a very meaningful job.
In 2002, she moved to New York City and began her ceramic art activities in 2004. During her 10 years in New York City, she gained experience at three ceramic studios: Togei Kyoshitsu NY, Greenwich House Pottery, and Brickhouse Ceramic Art Center. Especially at Greenwich House Pottery, she learned from many instructors and acquired skills. At Brickhouse Ceramic Art Center, she became interested in glazes and underglazes and began making glazes. In 2013, she moved to the DC area and spent her days in the studio at Lee Art Center in Arlington, VA. At Lee Art Center, she started doing reduction firing in a gas kiln with her studio friends. During this time, she was a member of the Ceramic Guild and Scope Gallery at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, VA from 2016 until she moved to San Diego in May 2021. In 2019, she learned the traditional Japanese kintsugi (golden joinery) technique. Kintsugi is the process of restoring broken ceramics with lacquer and sprinkling fine gold or silver powder over the lacquered area to decorate it. All of her pieces are functional, made of both stoneware and sometimes porcelain. Primarily, she likes to create her pieces by wheel, and then alter the shape and decorate them with underglaze, stain, slip trailing, and carving. Most of her work is fired at cone 6 oxidation, but occasionally she will do reduction firing at cone 10. She is interested in creating pieces that bring joy and warmth to everyday ceramics and is particularly interested in flower vases and indirect lighting that create a flow of lines. |
