Tomoko Iwata

Tomoko Iwata, born in 1977 in Saitama, Japan, graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts in 2000. This was followed by training at the Tokoname City Ceramic Art Institute (2006) and self-employment in the city of Tokoname, Aichi. Tomoko has lived and worked in Gyoda, Saitama since 2007.

Tomoko Iwata creates things according to the Japanese concept of "Utsuwa": beautiful things for everyday use. Her single flower vase series "Kusano Utsuwa" is made using the Tatara process. Tatara is a method of shaping clay slabs by bending or joining them together on a board or flat surface. Tomoko uses tatara-zukuri to make her square, rectangular or trapezoidal vases from flat slabs of clay.