Okamura Asako冈村朝子

She is a Japanese ceramic artist born in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, into a family of ceramic makers. Growing up surrounded by clay, kilns, and functional vessels, she developed an early and intuitive understanding of ceramics as objects meant for daily use rather than display. Working primarily with Shigaraki clay, Okamura employs reduction firing techniques to create surfaces that are soft, porous, and rich in texture, preserving the natural presence and vitality of the material. Her work is characterized by restrained forms, gentle glazes, and subtly irregular silhouettes, often accented with small motifs such as flowers, houses, or simple line patterns. These elements are not decorative statements, but quiet details that reveal themselves through repeated use. Guided by her belief in “placing small moments of happiness into ordinary days where nothing special seems to happen,” Okamura creates ceramics that do not seek immediate visual impact, but instead grow familiar and indispensable over time. Her cups, in particular, are thoughtfully proportioned for comfort in the hand, designed not for photographs, but for everyday rituals—objects that invite calm, grounding, and a slower pace of living.