Shio Kusaka
CeramicistKnown for:
Hand-thrown porcelain and stoneware vessels with geometric patterns and whimsical motifs
Education:
University of Washington (BFA, 2001)
Shio Kusaka is a Japanese-born, Los Angeles-based ceramicist known for hand-thrown porcelain and stoneware vessels that blend traditional pottery forms with contemporary motifs. Born in Morioka, Japan in 1972, she moved to the United States in the early 1990s and earned her BFA from the University of Washington in 2001. She relocated to Los Angeles in 2003, where she shares a studio in Culver City with her husband, painter Jonas Wood. Her work draws on Japanese Yayoi period pottery, ancient Greek and Egyptian ceramics, and the wall drawings of Sol LeWitt, featuring incised and painted patterns including grids, stripes, dinosaurs, and landscapes. She was included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial and received the Isamu Noguchi Award in 2021.
Shio Kusaka's Gear List(4)
Generic
Product description
High-fire clay body composed primarily of kaolin, firing between 1200 and 1400C. Porcelain produces a translucent, vitrified body with a distinctive white color and smooth surface. It is less forgiving than stoneware and requires precise moisture control during throwing and drying.
Connection note
Works with porcelain for smaller, more refined vessels with painted and incised geometric patterns.
Generic
Product description
Mid- to high-fire clay body that matures between Cone 6 and Cone 10 (roughly 1200-1300C). Denser and less porous than earthenware after firing, stoneware is used for functional pottery and sculptural work requiring structural strength.
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Last updated March 22, 2026
