Barbara Hirano

Raised on the West Coast, Barbara is inspired by the wisdom and depth nature presents. The visual world was to guide her journey.

An artist at a young age, encouraged by her artistic family members, Barbara created in many mediums.

Fascinated with landforms and history, she began studies at SFU in geography and ultimately graduated in Archaeology/Anthropology. Focusing on the Art of ancient world cultures through pottery and painting.

Technical immersion in the creation of "all things clay” began at Capilano College, now CapU, where she studied Ceramics, Sculpture and Design, achieving certificates in these fields. An apprenticeship with her instructor further provided technical knowledge and a base for her career as a pottery studio manager and instructor, lasting more than 30 years. She managed and instructed pottery and sculpture in Toronto, and southern British Columbia. Also taught has workshops in Mexico, Whistler, Hawaii, and Southern BC.

In the early 90's, a serious car accident, prevented her returning to teaching, for a time. She was happily driven towards painting. This marked the beginning of her mixed media built surface work. Textual work emerged, both influenced by pottery surfaces and the rock surfaces of the Ancient painters .

The development of her painting has increased to include acrylic and oil paintings, often incorporating sacred geometry and symbolism, reflected in natures forms.

CLAY TECHNIQUES

Most recently Barbara has developed a new and unique style of imagery with coloured clay bodies, that reveal abstract landscapes.

Similar to the Japanese technique of “Nerikomi”. This technique has been transformed by the Artist to produce a “West Coast” version.

Many of these pieces have been lightly sealed with glaze, in order to retain the various fine distinctions of combination of multi-coloured clay bodies, others have been fully glazed to provide a more functional surface.

Coloured Glazed plates have been glazed with a pouring technique.

The Artist choosse to illustrate the flowing quality of layers of glaze colours as nature creates, to produce these painterly, once glaze fired pieces.

All pottery pieces are of high fired stoneware quality.