Tadao Arimoto
Tadao Arimoto is a Japanese-born woodworker living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He designs functional, everyday objects inspired by the diversity of forms and processes in nonhuman nature. In an anthropocentric landscape dominated by right angles, Tadao’s work draws on the beauty and strength of organic structures. His use of natural materials explores the passage of time as measured by ancient trees and ageless stones. Before arriving in the United States, Tadao studied industrial design at the International Design Institute in Kyoto. He has lived and practiced his craft in Pittsburgh for 40+ years.
Carol Kumata
Carol Kumata is a sculptor living and working in Pittsburgh, PA. She received her M.F.A. in 1979 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 2021, she retired after a 42-year teaching career at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Art, where she shared her deep knowledge of metalworking and sculpture with generations of students. Teaching was always her greatest interest, working with a diverse range of students in various media, concentrating on three dimensional ideas and execution. Carol taught a variety of courses across the curriculum, including foundational classes, Senior Project, Art in Context, Summer projects, and study abroad courses in Germany and Italy, on top of a wide array of sculpture studios.
Whether small or large in scale, Kumata’s studio practice occupies “the ideologically suspect and undefined territory between functional craft…and fine art,” striving to preserve the integrity of the materials while illuminating the human condition. Carol has incorporated a variety of materials from traditional metalsmithing to mixed media and found objects. Her work spans the scale from hand holdable works to installations that command an entire room. She often uses visual and word puns to reflect on the history of objects, as well as to comment on a particular human situation or reality. Much of the work deals with the fragile and ephemeral. Carol has exhibited both regionally and nationally, and has been the recipient of numerous awards including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and Pennsylvania Council for the Arts.
Miwa Neishi
Miwa Neishi is a Tokyo-born, New York-based artist, whose sculptural works draw inspiration from abstract expressionism, prehistoric clay figures, and Japanese calligraphy. Neishi has studied and worked in various regions in Japan and in the US, exploring art in both contemporary and traditional perspectives. Her sculptural flower vases are made to invite people to connect with the elemental forms of life—earth and nature—in their homes. The placements of the openings of each work are playful, sometimes challenging, to open the new ways of looking at arrangement.
Yoko Sekino-Bové
Yoko Sekino-Bové was born in Osaka, Japan. She worked as a graphic designer in Tokyo and Los Angeles before her passion for ceramic art took her onto a new path.
After receiving an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Oklahoma, Yoko moved to Washington, Pennsylvania, and started working from her home studio. Her porcelain work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and most importantly, many private homes (mainly kitchens). She enjoys teaching workshops at craft schools and serves residencies all over the world. Currently, she teaches ceramics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
Yoko approaches ceramic art as a way to share stories, using function as a design element to enhance the experience. Her ambition in art is for her work to serve people in many different ways, to provide comfort, joy, and excitement.
Sogetsu Pittsburgh
Sogetsu Pittsburgh is a collective of ikebana practitioners dedicated to studying and sharing the modern art of Sogetsu ikebana through workshops, special projects and exhibitions. The group, founded in 1990 by Reiko Nakajima and Joan Walter, introduces the practice to the public and community through collaborations with various organizations and artists. Past events and partners have included the Carnegie Museum of Art, Phipps Conservatory, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Ohio University Eastern and more. Sogetsu Pittsburgh was a 2023 Fallingwater Institute Artist-in-Residence, with members presenting Elements of Balance, a curated installation throughout the historic house, terraces and grounds. The collective continues to be led by Nakajima and Atsumi Sewell as principal instructors and is active with Ikebana International Pittsburgh Chapter #25, established in 1959 by Kay McKenna of Greensburg, cultivating the appreciation of ikebana in the region.
Sogetsu is a school of ikebana founded in Japan in 1927 by artist Sofu Teshigahara on the premise that traditional ikebana – originally intended for altars, the tokonoma and tea ceremonies – could be expanded and be created “anytime, anywhere, by anyone.” Sogetsu incorporates influences including modern sculpture, abstract art, architecture, and design while honoring custom and particular techniques.