Hitomi Shibata

Artist Statement

My works are made from natural clays and it’s really important for me to use materials from nature. Wood firing is also an important process to complete my works and it gives a sustainable energy and life into my works. I started learning ceramic art in Okayama, Japan when I was a college student, and after graduation I moved to Shigaraki which is one of the oldest Japanese pottery town. I lived and established my skill and knowledge as a professional potter in Shigaraki. I was fortunate I received a scholarship by Rotary International to come to USA to learn American ceramics in 2001. Now I live in Seagrove, North Carolina which is the most active pottery community in USA, and I enjoy making pots in my studio. I do wood firings with my husband, Takuro Shibata by our Anagama plus chamber kiln that we built in 2009. I want to make beautiful pots from natural materials and elements, and hope people will love, hold, and use them functionally in daily life.

Professional Experience

2017 International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) Member

2015  Built small wood kiln

2014  Opened pottery shop and Gallery next to our studio

2009  Built Japanese style wood kiln in Seagrove

2008  Setup pottery studio in Seagrove

2007 - 2014  Studio Coordinator: STARworks Ceramics, Star, NC

2005 – 2007 Artist in Residence: North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC

2004 – 2005 Ceramic Research Assistant: Shigaraki Ceramic Research Institute, Shiga, Japan

2003  Residency Artist: Cub Creek Foundation for the Ceramics Arts, Appomattox, VA

1999 - 2001 Studio Potter, Shigaraki, Shiga, Japan

1998 - 1999 Ceramic Research Assistant: Shigaraki Ceramic Research Institute, Shiga, Japan

1996 - 1997 Residency Artist: Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shiga, Japan

Educational Background and Degree

2002  University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, College of Visual & Performing Arts, Ceramics: Special Student in Graduate Program, Diploma

1994 - 1996 Okayama University, Okayama, Japan: Master of Education: Fine Arts: Ceramics

1990 - 1994 Okayama University, Okayama, Japan: Bachelor of Education: Fine Arts and Crafts: Ceramics

Ceramics Exhibition Record

2017 Group Exhibition “The Cup Mash Up 2017”, International Cup Exhibition, Aarhus, Viborg, Denmark

2017 Group Exhibition “Controlled Burn: Wood Fired Pottery in Seagrove, NC”, RAG, Asheboro, NC

2017 Group Exhibition “Making Matters: Fresh Perspectives in Fine Craft” Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ

2017 Group Exhibition “Confluence: a Woodfire Invitational”, STARworks, Star, NC

2017 Group Exhibition “Shaping the New South” Curated by Garth Johnson, Hudgens Center for Art, Duluth, GA

2017 Group Exhibition “New Times Three”, Blue Spiral 1 Gallery, Asheville, NC

2016 “Studio Touya Exhibition”, Ackland Museum Store Gallery, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC

2016 Group exhibition “WoodFired Ceramics” Smith House galleries, Harrisonburg, VA

2016 Group Exhibition “EARTH, PAINTING AND FIRE”, Round About Art Collective, Raleigh, NC

2016 Group Exhibition “A Life in Clay”, Atrium Gallery, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana

2015 NCECA Providence “The 5th for the Community College of Rhode Island, Invitational”, Warwick Museum of Art, Providence, RI

2015 Group Exhibition “Quiet Inspiration” Curated by Judith Duff, North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, North Carolina

2014 Group Exhibition “Ceramicists of Seagrove, NC” East Tennessee State University, Tennessee

2013 “Tea Time: Series 2” North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC

2012 “Teapot Show” North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC

2011-2012 Cub Creek Show, Traveling Exhibition, VA & PA

2011 "STARworks Ceramics Exhibition", Randolph Arts Guild, Asheboro, NC

2011 “Hard and Soft” Exhibition, Japan Center, NC State University, Raleigh, NC

2011 “Next Generation of Seagrove Potters” Moore Arts Council, Southern Pines, NC

2010 “Cub Creek Show”, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

2010 “Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story” Moore Arts Council, Southern Pines, NC

2010 “DIRECTions”, Invitational Ceramic Show, Meredith College, Raleigh, NC

2010 Two Person Show, Cape Fear Studios, Fayetteville, NC

2010 “New Generation of Seagrove Potters”, North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC

2009 “Asian Trunk Show” Freer Gallery / Sackler Museum, Washington DC

2009 “Birth of a Notion” Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA

2007 Solo Exhibition “Hitomi’s Farewell” North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC

2006 Two person Ceramic Exhibition, Harlequin Gallery, Greenwich, London, UK

2002 Hitomi Akebi Shibata Solo Exhibition, UMass Star Store Crapo Gallery, MA, USA

2002 UMass Dartmouth CVPA Artisanry Exhibition, University Gallery, MA, USA

2001 Space Show at Cherry Building, New Bedford, MA, USA

2000 Group Exhibition, Takashimaya Department Store, Nanba, Osaka, Japan

2000 Solo Exhibition, Gallery To-Mu, Shigaraki Japan More shows in Japan

Public Collection

2003 Richmond University, Richmond, VA, USA

2003 Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, Farmville, VA, USA

2002 Dartmouth Rotary Club, MA, USA

1997 Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shigaraki, Shiga, Japan

Scholarship and Grant

2005 Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Small Grant, Wood fired Ceramics Research Travel in England

2001 - 2002 Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth