Michiko Sugiura

About the Artist

Exquisite deformations that people can relate to

Doll artist, Sugiura, aims to make dolls that people can relate to and those that match the modern living space. She says, "I always try to make my dolls easy to understand by exaggerating and simplifying the form, yet not making them abstract. This is how to 'make human forms into dolls'." You can feel liveliness from the figure of her dolls and be charmed with the dolls' friendly faces. To create a gentle texture and express delicate nuances, carefully selected traditional Japanese paper is used for the face. Although Sugiura started making dolls as a hobby, she has received several craft awards throughout the years, and her performance as a doll artist is outstanding.

Style

The method that I use is called mokushin toso washibari, which is forming the piece over a wooden core with toso (mixture of sawdust of paulownia wood and wheat starch) , applying gofun (whitewash), covering with Japanese traditional paper and coloring.
Basically, I make dolls, but I exaggerate or simplify the form so that the people who see my work can relate to it more.
I also try to make the dolls to match the modern living space. In modern life, we are unable to understand people's feelings, or their state of mind right away just from how they look. I try to simplify the appearance as much as I can so that they can be easily understood.
There are various kinds of Japanese traditional paper, but I sometimes dye my own paper or arrange the paper to change the texture. I also use other various material such as fabric, metallic foil, whitewash, mineral pigments, etc. on making my art work.

Biography

• 1954
  Born in Fuji Kawaguchiko Town, Yamanashi Prefecture
• 1996
  Studies under Nobuko AKIYAMA
• 2005
  Three person exhibition at Takashimaya, Osaka
• 2013
  Exhibited at "From Crafts to Kogei" Exhibition (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo)
• 2020
  Exhibited at "Kogei 2020 - The Art of Crafting Beauty from Nature" Exhibition (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo)

Awards

• 1999
  Received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner's Award at the 17th Dolls Traditional Kōgei Exhibition
• 2004
  Received the New Artist Award at the 51st Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition
• 2011
  Received the Miyagi Governor Award at the 51st East Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition
• 2014
  Received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner's Award at the 27th Dolls Traditional KōgeiExhibition (second time)
• 2016
  Received the Tokyo Governor Award at the 63rd Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition