Framed 24 x 30
Starting bid $125
Taken from an article from the Eugene Weekly:
"THE ART OF FAYE NAKUMARA"
BY LOIS WADSWORTHPOSTED ON 09/16/2004
Faye Nakamura received her BFA in ceramics from the UO in 1977. She grew up in Hawaii but said there wasn't a lot of Japanese art in her mother's home. She discovered Japanese woodblock prints later. "I loved the sense of space in them," she said. "I loved how the figures are in that space." But Nakamura doesn't think of her work as "Asian," although she has "learned to appreciate Japanese arts and crafts" and to use them in her work.
Among the objects that have appeared in her work for 30 years are the dark-leafed ferns called lau-ae or lauai, which are prominent in the large glazed ceramic platter titled Lauai and Willows. Besides the stylized cherry blossoms that bring their own femininity to her work, Nakamura frequently uses pussy willows, which she associates with Oregon and loves for their metamorphosis and tactility.
"I work in a spiral," Nakamura said in an interview in 2004. "I might have 20 pieces going at a time." She arranges and rearranges the tile sets that are present in almost all the work. "I can spend the whole day carving for the tile assemblages," she said. "The tile sets are like paintings to me. I try them in one place then change them the next day."
She uses a very high temperature for her glazed pieces, but the colors are not bright. "I saw someone paint on ceramics a long time ago," she said. "I always liked those brilliant colors." Nakamura works until she gets her painting the way she likes it. But she said she still allows herself to make corrections if her mood changes.
"The most fun I have is at the end when I'm trying to fit all the pieces together, like a puzzle," she said. "I strive to find the best arrangement."
Nakamura said people often assume that she is the model for the feminine figure she paints. "She's not me,'
" the artist said, "but I can relate to her. I've always
drawn people, since I was a 5 year old. I have an affinity for the body."