Sawami Aoki (Ceramic Artist)

Born in Osaka, Japan, and raised by a mother who taught the tea ceremony and traditional Japanese flower arrangement, Sawami was familiar with these arts from an early age. She studied at Shukugawa Gakuin in Kobe, where she received many awards for her designs, oil paintings, and other artwork.

She developed a deep appreciation for Japanese culture, discovered ceramics in New York, and began creating works. Though she took a break from creating ceramics to raise her children, she resumed her work around 2013 and has since held solo and group exhibitions in both Japan and the United States, and her works have been highly acclaimed.

In 2016, she demonstrated her talent as a ceramic artist by winning 3rd place at the 17th Tokyo New York Ceramics Competition. In 2020, the Urasenke New York branch staff personally presented a Sawami's tea caddy to commemorate the succession of the next grandmaster, Mr. Takafumi Sen of the Urasenke, in Kyoto, Japan.

While working as a ceramic artist in New York, she is widely showcasing her diverse talents, such as creating and teaching Shifuku, one of the tea utensils.