Current Residents Rina Araki
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Blumo×ArkLab, Bookends2, 2026
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VEIN Plate, 2026
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VEIN cup, 2026
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PATTERN STUDIES, 2023
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Heron accessories
Rina Araki’s practice explores the relationship between material, landscape, and time through ceramics. Drawing on her background in textile design, she approaches clay as a medium for drawing, layering, and patterning. She is interested in how intentional gestures and material behavior come together, allowing different clay bodies to mix, contract, crack, and transform during firing. Her work draws connections between these ceramic processes and natural phenomena such as geological formation, erosion, and the accumulation of time. Moving between the micro and macro, her works explore the boundaries between natural and artificial forms, and between craft, painting, and sculpture.
During my HIAP residency, I will explore how Finland’s natural environment and craft culture can inform my understanding of material, surface, and pattern in ceramics. I will observe forests, stones, plants, light, and geological landscapes, while researching local craft traditions and ornamentation. Through clay-mixing, slip and engobe experiments, and firing tests, I will translate these observations into ceramic surfaces and sculptural forms, allowing intentional gestures and material processes to shape the work. I also hope to exchange ideas with local artists across ceramics, glass, textiles, and other disciplines. I aim to develop new perspectives on material, environment, and making.
Rina Araki’s residency is realised in partnership between HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, the International Policy Group of Saga Prefectural Government, Pot Viapori association, and the Arabia Art Department Society.