An artist at heart, and in training, Rieko Yura traverses stylistic boundaries in what she makes. Originally a Kyoto-based student of painting, Yura’s work in clay also begins with her sketchbook. The outcome can be coral like shapes, or plates and surfaces that draw upon a palette of dreams.

Active in ceramics since 1990, Yura is based some distance to the south of Kasama, and is part of the extended community of potters in the region. What she creates is firmly in keeping with the free mode of ceramic creation that Kasama is known for. With bold, irregular forms, she makes items that range from recognisable pieces for the home to objet of various kinds. While on a path that is very much her own, Yura has been increasingly recognised in her work, scooping a major ceramic award in 2017. Her method and her purpose is unaltered, in seeking ways to translate the ideas that she sketches into physical forms.