About Studio Touya
Hitomi Shibata and Takuro Shibata are Japanese native ceramic artists in Seagrove, NC. Takuro holds a degree in applied chemistry from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. He is the director of STARworks Ceramics and runs a ceramic supply business and clay factory. Hitomi has B.Ed. & M.Ed. in ceramic art degrees from Okayama University in Japan. Rotary International scholarship brought her to the USA and studied at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in 2002. Since they moved to Seagrove, NC in 2005, they established Studio Touya, built a Shigaraki style Anagama kiln and a small wood kiln. They led workshops at Peters Valley School of Craft (2017), The Art League in Alexandria (2019) and Penland School of Crafts (2019). Hitomi was selected as a member of International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) in Geneva, Switzerland in 2018 and Takuro was also selected in 2020.
Artist Statement
Studio Touya is a handmade pottery studio located in Seagrove, NC where Hitomi and Takuro Shibata set up a studio and built a Japanese style wood kiln. Our focus is to make simple & functional pottery by using local wild clays and wood firing techniques. It is a much slower process, each pot is different and there is time to experiment with the beautiful local clays. It is hard work, but we appreciate our down-to-earth lifestyle.
Contact
Contacthttp://www.studiotouya.com/
Instagram: @takuroshibataceramics @studiotouya
Facebook
Twitter: @takuroshibata @studiotouya