What’s your personal and artistic background? Like many potters, likely like many people, I was introduced to clay at a young age — by making mud pies in our backyard. Our Ohio soil had a high clay content, so forms could raise into vessels. My child brain thought that if I made my pots a cozy shelter out of sticks, and left them there to harden, that they’d dry out to a usable stage. Well, not quite! Fast-forward to high school art class, where my teacher gave me free reign on a janky old kickwheel. The wheel was stashed in a corner of the room that felt like my very own in which to retrea ..read more

Jason Sturgill's Biography I'm an illustrator, designer, consultant and artist based in Portland, Oregon. I've worked in a variety of roles over my 20-year career that have led me to where I am now. Everything from starting a record label in 1997 working with Modest Mouse, to working in interactive and strategy at Wieden + Kennedy, packaging design at Dark Horse Comics and marketing and product design at Nike SB. For the last nine years, I've been working as a freelance illustrator and designer along with speaking engagements and art shows. I enjoy working on a variety of projects at differen ..read more

Cozy Factory Cozy Factory is the partnership of the Japanese artists, Kana and Koji Higuchi.  Amy from Hello! Good Morning!: I found Cozy Factory on Instagram and instantly loved their aesthetic and every aspect of what they did. And they seemed like really fun people! Several years ago, a friend in Kyoto introduced us when I was traveling in Japan. I bought some art from them and hoped that one day they would do a show in my shop. My dream came true!   I think what they do is inspired in the best way by folk art and nature. I love that they collaborate, carving wood then painting and sometim ..read more

Japanese craftspeople make some of the most exquisite handmade art in the world using traditional techniques passed down through generations. Kata Kata took a traditional Japanese art form and made it their own. At the end of the post, they'll show us step by step how they make their beautiful fabrics. To visit Kata Kata’s studio and shop, you might take a pleasant train ride east from Tokyo to Chofu. Once you get off the train, you walk past a kindergarten schoolyard and through a park. The shop is tucked away in this peaceful neighborhood. Sawako having fun in the park on the way to Kata ..read more

Japanese artist Kentaro Okawara has a big heart and infectious smile that brings people together. His art reflects the love, joy, and fun he brings with him wherever he goes. His optimism and happiness connect people from all walks of life. 日本人アーティストの大河原健太郎は、人々を結びつける大きな心と、ついつられて微笑んでしまうような笑顔が魅力です。彼の芸術は、行く先々で彼がもたらす愛、喜び、そして楽しさを反映しています。彼は楽観主義と幸せな気分で、さまざまな立場の人々を結びつけます。 He loves to joke around with people. At his book signing at Fisk Gallery in Portland, he offered to sign his book for a customer. The guy asked, "Are you the artist?" Kentaro said, "No. I don't know him. But I can sign his name for ..read more

Inside Stef Choi is a world brimming with whimsical characters who love us unconditionally no matter how messed up we are. Stef has designed characters for the Laika movies "Coraline" and "The Boxtrolls" as well as for the television series' "Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends." Ever since she can remember, she's been creating a world of her own. Moon Jug What's your creative background?   As a kid, I was obsessed with cartoons, especially with the classic animated shorts by Disney. I loved this feeling that you could bring a character to life through animation. I star ..read more

Larry Yes is a socially-engaged artist, songwriter, and musician whose work focuses on positivity, humor, and fostering social bonds through creativity. In his nearly 30-year musical career, he has collaborated with Michael Hurley, Mirah, Josephine Foster, Sonny and the Sunsets, Pall Jenkins (Black Heart Procession) The Blue Flowers, The Art of Flying, Bob Corn, Pink Widower, The Yogoman Burning Band, Six Foot Sloth, Hitting Birth, Ape Grave and more. He has played shows with Donovan, Elliott Smith, Daniel Johnston, Low. He has toured Europe multiple times, played the Quiet Music Festival, as ..read more

  Sawako Ninomiya is an embroidery artist based in Tokyo. She was born on August 12, 1980. She works on different projects, teaching embroidery to women living in poor areas of India as well as planning exhibitions and making art for the exhibitions. She has organized two group shows at Hello! Good Morning! in Portland, Oregon to introduce Japanese artists in Portland.     "I like the ease of doing embroidery anytime, anywhere, with needles and threads. I embroidered on the cloth with a sense of painting with needles and threads, so when I apply embroidery to clothes, I can wear a p ..read more

Juan José and his son, Abel Juan José Ramos Medrano is the grandson of the renowned sculptor, Candelario Medrano. Candelario was a sewer pipe maker who began making ceramic sculptures out of the pipe clay. This became known as the “betus” clay tradition of ceramic art. The subjects of these playful artforms are often fantastical creatures. Each piece bears the unmistakable stamp of the particular folk artist who made it.   Photo of Candelario Medrano glazing one of his creations. Juan José, or JJRM, as he signs his work, carries on his grandfather’s folk art tradition. He lives on t ..read more

Serapio Medrano is a Mexican ceramicist living in Tonala near Guadalajara. Serapio is the son of Candelario Medrano, a famous ceramicist from the 1970s. Candelario was a pipe-maker who began making sculptures out of the clay he was using. These pictures of his dad hang in his home. Some of his brightly colored creations. Serapio's painting table. Serapio gives us a tour of his home and studio. Serapio working in his open-air studio. Art that hangs in his studio. Serapio and his wood-fired, brick kiln. Serapio outside his home and studio.   Two of his sculptures in the El N ..read more