Maker
Hi, my name is Yumi. I am mainly a self-taught visual artist, focusing on ceramics since 2022. I make each piece by hand in my humble home studio on Vancouver Island. Previously, I was exploring lapidary and metalsmithing in Vancouver making torch fired jewellery using sterling silver, gold and gemstones.
Gratitude for Mother Earth is my main source of inspiration. Particularly experiencing the breathtaking land throughout the Pacific Northwest coast on unceded Coast Salish land: scenic hikes, beachcombing, wildlife encounters, and being surrounded by plants and wildflowers native to this region.
I find joy in trying to bring feelings of serenity, freedom, and recharging of the soul when ‘forest bathing’ (しんりんよく - shinrinyoku) to life through my art work.
Thank you for visiting x
ARTIST STATEMENT
My intention is to create art reflecting a part of my internal world, exploring the intersectionality of my mixed East Asian heritage x West Coast upbringing. I feel a sense of grounded joy when working with clay, wheel throwing vessels to use as my canvas to relief carve. Through working with different types of clay, I have learned that I gravitate towards porcelain.
The art work I create is influenced by West Coast nature, ancient relief work, and a personal desire to reconnect to my mixed heritage. Seaweed and wildflowers local to the Pacific Northwest, as well as peonies inspired by ancient Chinese and Japanese brush paintings are often themes for my relief carvings. I would love for the viewer experiencing my work to have evoked feelings of curiosity and serenity.
Creative research is mainly accessed through sketching out in the wild - observing washed up seaweed, local wildflowers and mushrooms. I also visit museums to study ancient Chinese and Japanese art.
Artist Bio
Yumi (she/her) was born in Vancouver, BC, a 2nd generation Chinese-Japanese Canadian. Her formal studies include classical piano performance (ARCT) and piano pedagogy (BMus, BEd).
She took the opportunity to reignite her curiosity of working with clay - learning basics of throwing and continued practicing at Yunomi Studio & Gallery in Victoria, BC from 2022 - 2023. She also learned traditional kintsugi from a Master kintsugi artist, and took part in her first Raku firing in 2024.
In 2025, Yumi was selected as an exhibiting artist at Cannonball Arts in Seattle, WA, displaying relief carved soap sculptures. She also took part in an intensive two-day masterclass learning how to throw large scale and composite forms with Kseniya Polyakova in New York City.
She will be a ceramic artist-in-residence at AlterWork Studios in Queens, NYC this Fall 2026, and will hold her first Solo Exhibition “Relief.Carved” at Arc.Hive in Victoria, BC in January 2027.
