The making begins with bisque molds, slab construction, and coil building to make thick, heavy forms.  I carve, shave, and sand excess clay away to slowly reveal the final shape.  White slip is brushed over the red earthenware to create depth and motion.  Then I scratch back through the slip exposing the red clay.  Shiny translucent glazes are applied over the decorated areas and opaque matte glazes over the calm areas.

I create my characters based on human relations and events I have experienced.  To me it is much easier to draw owls than humans.  I don't want to tell specific stories to people, I want people to create their own. Sometimes you feel like the weight of a turtle standing on top of you and sometimes you feel like an owl standing on top of the world.  Some of my characters have a dark nature.  I think that is life.  Sometimes dark things happen.  Overall, I want my work to have a sense of hope and a sense of humor because life goes on.

Shoko Teruyama grew up in Mishima, Japan. She earned a BA in education and taught elementary school two years before coming to the United States to study art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1997.  Shoko received her MFA in ceramics in the fall of 2005 from Wichita State University.  She finished a three-year residency at the Penland School of Crafts in 2008 and is now a studio artist in Marshall, NC.

Shoko's handbuilt work is made of earthenware with white slip and sgraffito decoration. She has developed personal drawings including a variety of vine patterns twisting around bird motifs.  To Shoko, the birds represent freedom.

Shoko Teruyama
PO Box 954
Marshall, NC  28753
(828) 467-9017

Shoko Teruyama.com