beads by Ayako

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Ayako Miyashita is a lampworker from Fujiyoshida, Japan. Fujiyoshida is a small city a couple of hours south of Tokyo. It’s situated at the base of Mt. Fuji and no matter where you are in the area, the mountain looms above you reminding you of its’ presence. Fujiyoshida is situated in a beautiful resort area famous for five lakes that have drawn visitors from Tokyo and other areas of Japan for centuries. The largest and most developed of the lakes is Kawaguchiko. Ayako has lived in Fujiyoshida all of her life. She lives with her two children, a daughter named Mami and a son, Tomoya.

On the shores of Kawaguchiko is the glass studio that Ayako manages. Ayako has worked in this studio for about four years. In 2004, she took her first workshop at Niijima Glass School. Situated on the island of Niijima the school is the Japanese equivalent of Pilchuck Glass School. At Niijima, she took a workshop in flameworking taught by Taeko Yamada. In 2005, she was the recipient of a scholarship to travel to Washington state to study with Robbie Miller. Both of these workshops were very exciting for her and opened up new directions for her to consider in her own work. Ayako works with Satake glass. This glass offers her the materials to blend the beautiful colors that you can see in her beads. Although she has been exploring the sculptural possibilities in glass through the workshops that she has recently taken, she still finds the most satisfaction in making her beads. We’re very happy and excited to offer Ayako’s beads on our website. Unlike the beads that I am offering, the beads that you see are the actual beads that are for sale. Special orders for these beads will not be taken. As the beads sell, they will be marked ‘sold’.

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Japanesese guest bead artist