Artist of the Week: Saya Moriyasu

Saya Moriyasu is a Seattle-based artist who uses green practices to create sculptures, paintings and drawings.

Seattle Refined: How long have you been creating? What mediums do you work with?
Moriyasu: I’ve been creating art since I was young, influenced by my creative family environment. The Moriyasu family included those versed in painting, photography, tea ceremony, singing and dance. My father has his darkroom at home and we made shadowgrams. As teenagers, my sisters and I took black-and-white photographs and printed them in the darkroom. My Japanese parents moved to Portland (where I grew up). My grandfather had his painting studio in our home below our family room.

Professionally, I’ve been active since graduating with a BFA in Ceramic Sculpture and a BA in General Art from the University of Washington in 1991. As a decade-long member of SOIL Artist-Run Gallery, I created various immersive exhibits and collaborations with talented artists. The commercial galleries I have had the privilege of exhibiting art with are Platform Gallery, G. Gibson Gallery, and currently, J. Rinehart Gallery.

I work in media including clay, wood, oil paint, inks, bronze and gifs. My work often involves many small pieces that create a larger composition. The materials I choose help me convey my themes, from the organic to the spiritual, to a loving and towering female figure made of bronze for Vulcan Real Estate.

Can you tell us about your artistic process and how the different stages work into it?
My artistic process is deeply intuitive and often starts with a concept inspired by my experiences and surroundings. For example, during a residency in New Mexico, the hot springs (onsen) became a profound source of inspiration, leading me to explore themes of natural energy and ancient geology. That work started at Mission Street Arts Residency, where I worked in inks on paper.

Tell us about where your inspiration for your art comes from.
My inspiration comes from a blend of my Japanese heritage, personal experiences and the natural world. The Shinto belief in the spiritual essence of all things heavily influences my work, as does my time spent in nature. My recent works have been inspired by thermal features and the mystical creatures inhabiting them.

Do you have a specific “beat” you like best – nature, food, profiles, etc.?
Nature is a consistent source of inspiration for me. I am particularly drawn to natural phenomena like hot springs, geological formations and the unseen energies that connect all living things. This fascination manifests in my art through depictions of thermal creatures and the essence of natural elements.

Do you have one piece of art that means more to you or is extremely special to you?
Several pieces from my recent show at J. Rinehart Gallery are influencing what I’ll create next. The human-height ceramic sculptures Eozoön Otoko (Dawn of Animal – Man) and Eozoön Onna (Dawn of Animal – Girl) are two favorites. These explore the spiritual and geological themes inspired by the Japanese Shinto religion and my experiences at the hot springs. It encapsulates my connection to nature and the spiritual world through the medium of clay, representing thermal creatures and geological time. There is also a bit of a humorous edge in my work, as seen in the expression of these two sculptures.

The sensation of oozing hot water seeping from the depths captivated me. Floating serenely on my back at Pagosa Springs in Colorado, I found myself enveloped in the wordless communication of the waters. Though incomprehensible in language, I felt the energy and presence of deities within the depths.

This piece is informed by stromatolites, layered sedimentary formations created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria. These microorganisms produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials to form mineral “microbial mats.” Stromatolites create their lumpy structure much like this artwork.

Stromatolites enabled humans to later inhabit the earth by creating oxygen billions of years ago. We have an integral relationship with geology.

What experiences in your life have affected your art the most?
Living in Japan during high school deeply impacted my appreciation for its culture and art. Yamate Gakuin, the school I attended, had many master artists in their fields of study. Additionally, my family’s creative background and our home’s role as a gathering place for artists have been significant. My residencies and travel experiences, especially those involving natural environments, continuously fuel my creative process.

Growing up in a culturally mixed household and my travels, including artist residencies, have profoundly influenced my art. These experiences have allowed me to explore and integrate diverse cultural narratives and artistic techniques into my work.

If we want to see more of your work, where should we go to find it?
My work is available at the J. Rinehart Gallery in Seattle. The gallery has work from my 2024 exhibit this spring. You can see the works on the website and schedule with the gallery if you want to see them in person. The Eozoön couple I mentioned above can be seen in her back gallery space anytime.

I have an 11’+ bronze outside at Yesler and Broadway for Vulcan Real Estate in front of Tougo Coffee. Her name is Maya, and she greets you with open hands. At The Wing Luke Museum for the Asian American Experience, I have a permanent piece in the foyer with 108 bells and faces from the AANHPI community. In Japanese, Maya means truth. The figure is not a portrait, but it was important that she have an identity — a name that represents strength. Maya projects a state of mind and a future where equality and compassion reign.

As a monumental standing figure, Maya is like traditional public sculpture, but her detailing makes her a purely 21st-century creature. While sculpting this piece the 2017 Women’s March and Movement fused in her stance and snippets of songs would repeat in my mind — Beyoncé’s song “Run the World – Girls” and Nirvana’s “Come as You Are.” Maya is inspired by memories of many strong women and girls in my life: her curly hair from my mother, with her 1970s maxi skirts, the braided bun from my gray-haired British neighbor, and bright, wide-open eyes from my young nieces. The plants on her skirt are bamboo shoots. A stalwart resource for food, clothing, shelter and defense, these emerging bamboo plants embody the past, present and future. All these details endow Maya with the power, resources and love to support you and welcome a glowing future.

My art is in these collections. However, most aren’t always on view (city is Seattle unless otherwise noted):

• ArtsWA – Capitol Childcare Center (Olympia)
• Asian Counseling and Referral Services
• City of Seattle Portable Works Collection
• Henry Art Gallery
• Kent Arts Commission
• Meta Open Arts
• Museum of Art, Washington State University (Pullman)
• NW Museum of Arts and Culture (Spokane)
• Safeco (Liberty) Art Collection
• Seattle Art Museum
• Tacoma Art Museum
• Vulcan Real Estate
• Western Gallery, Western Washington University (Bellingham)
• Whatcom Museum (Bellingham)
• Wing Luke Museum of the Asian-Pacific American Experience
• As well as countless private collections throughout the United States

What is next for you? Anything you’re working on right now that you’re really excited about?
I’d love to have more private commissions. I’ve been researching and connecting with fabricators who can work with sprayed concrete. It would be a fantastic way to make permanent outdoor pieces.

This year, I had my solo exhibition at J. Rinehart Gallery. It was a major exhibition for me, and I just completed the exhibition catalog, which is available on Blurb.com.

I’m working in my studio for shows later this year at Punch Gallery in Thorp, Washington, Orcas Paley and Kobo at Higo.

• Punch Gallery, a two-person show with Jeff McGrath.
• Opening Oct. 5 at the Punch Gallery in the Thorp Fire House
• Noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays or by appointment
• Noon to 8 p.m. on Last Saturdays
• 10630 N Thorp Hwy, Thorp, WA

Orcas Paley (1914 2nd Avenue Seattle, WA) is my favorite shop in Seattle. Owner Peter Gaucys occasionally asks artists to participate in special-themed exhibitions. Oct. 17-31, 2024, a group show “Vide-Poche: Pockets and Their Contents explores the transitions we make between domestic space and the outside world, and the objects, rituals, compulsions and quirks that make these moments personal. It examines the little things we carry through the day, from the mundane to the magical, and our efforts to contain them in the world and at home.”

15th Annual Simple Cup group show at KOBO Gallery (604 S Jackson St, Seattle) Opening in the afternoon of Nov. 2.

For more details about my work and exhibitions, please visit sayamoriyasu.com.

Lastly, how do you take your coffee? We ask everyone!
I love a strong americano with cream.

About ‘Artist of the Week’: This city is packed with artists we love to feature weekly on Seattle Refined! If you have a local artist in mind that you would like to see featured, let us know at hello@seattlerefined.com. And if you’re wondering just what constitutes art, that’s the beauty of it; it’s up to you! See all of our past Artists of the Week in our dedicated section.