• Born in Japan, Yumiko became a Canadian resident in 1971.
• Began wheel throwing pots in 1983 at Hill Potters Guild in Richmond Hill
• Member of the Toronto Potters from 2005 to 2015.
• Joined the Ottawa Guild of Potters in 2016 after her move to Ottawa.

Exhibitions:

• 1999     Solo Exhibition at the Japan Foundation, Toronto
• 2004     Solo Exhibition at the Burr House Craft Gallery, Richmond Hill
• 2006     Solo Exhibition at the Japan Foundation, Toronto
• 2010     The Toronto Potters Biennial Juried Exhibition at the Gardiner Museum
• 2012     Tokyo Ceramic Juried Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
• 2012     Solo Exhibition at the Japan Foundation, Toronto
• 2012     The Toronto Potters Biennial Juried Exhibition at the Ontario Craft Council Gallery, Toronto
• 2014     The Toronto Potters Biennial Juried Exhibition at the Gardiner Museum
• 2014     All Japan Juried Ceramic Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
• 2015     Bowl Show at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto
• 2016     Revitalization 2016 at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto
• 2017     Celebration 2017 at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto
• 2018     Year of Japan at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto
• 2019     Solo Exhibition at Dust Evans Gallery, Shenkman Art Centre, Orleans, Ontario

Awards:

• Juror’s Choice Awards at the Hill Potters Guild, 1988, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005  where her work is displayed in their permanent collection
• 2011  People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Potters Show
• 2012  Honorary Advisor’s Award at the Tokyo Ceramic Juried Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan by Houseki Okuyama. He is recognized as an Important Intangible Cultural Properties, a Living National Treasure of Japan. Japan holds ceramic arts in high esteem, and this award has special significance.
• 2014  Karen Latorre Award at the Toronto Potters Biennial Juried  Exhibition at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto
• 2017  Fusion Award for Best Design at the Annual Juried Exhibition of Ottawa Guild of Potters

A beautiful crystalline-glazed vase captivated me while I was visiting Australia in 1999. That work of art sparked my dream to create my own mystical crystal beauty in porcelain.

My pottery career had started in 1983 when I joined Hill Potters Guild in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Through many advanced pottery workshops, I learned to throw functional ware such as teapots, vases and dishes. I also began to explore my technically challenging crystal glaze signature. These glazes are extremely fluid and tend to flow off the vessels during firing, so the pots are set on specially made pedestals to catch the liquid glaze. After cooling, the pots and the glaze-catchers must be separated with a blow-torch and the jagged glass bottoms ground smooth. Although a time consuming process, it reveals  the magnificent crystal forms which delight me. 

The colours I choose have a meditative quality connecting to elements within myself and to nature: the quiet intensity of a deep forest, the ethereal quality of a glacier’s blue-green or the serenity and mystery of the deep blue sea.

I seek to imbue my crystalline pieces with a peacefulness and grace, like snowflakes gently falling and I find them perfect companions in my Japanese tea ceremonies.