Residence

Ellensburg, WA, United States

Place of Birth

Tokyo, , Japan

Personal Statement

I enjoy creating representational oil paintings that tell stories, especially stories that promote environmental preservation and appreciation, or that illuminate cross-cultural experiences. I like painting birds and aerial-view landscapes as an allegory of my personal experiences and interests.

Having migrated to Ellensburg from Tokyo through my marriage, I identify my personal transplantation with the lives of migrating birds, in contrast with birds that are year-round residents. In my pictorial narratives these avian characters become metaphors for my personal experience of migration.

As a hang glider pilot, I have grown attached to the wild birds that share the sky with us, sometimes circling in thermals just under my wings. For thousands of years people have dreamed of flying like birds. Now we can finally do that, and the western United States is one of the best parts of the world for soaring, with beautiful scenery and birds. Painting is my way of sharing these experiences.

Biography

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, her fascination with Western movies and astronomy brought her to the University of Arizona, where she lived for several years. In Arizona Naomi learned to fly hang gliders, which became her passion for the past 15 years. In 2003, marriage to a fellow hang glider pilot brought her to Ellensburg, where she pursues her love of art, aviation, and the outdoors. In 2007, Naomi received a bachelor degree in fine arts, with an emphasis in painting, from Central Washington University.

Awards and Honors

 2007

• Best of Show, Kittitas County Fair Fine Arts Division
• Juror’s Merit Award, Kittitas County Juried Exhibition
• Outstanding Original Artwork, Symposium on University Research and Creative Expression, Central Washington University
• Western Art Association Scholarship, Central Washington University
• CWU Wildcat Shop Award, Juried Student Art Show, Central Washington University
• C. Farrell Merit Scholarship, Central Washington University
• Undergraduate Research Grant, Central Washington University

2006

• Hubbard Art Scholarship, Central Washington University
• Sarah Spurgeon Gallery Award, Student Juried Art Show, Central Washington University

Contact Information

Website: http://www.skygoddess.net

Email: naomi(at)skygoddess.net 

Phone: (509) 899-1766

Artist's Website

http://www.skygoddess.net

Links to buy work

http://www.skygoddess.net