Masami Koda

Masami Koda was born in Kobe, Japan and works primarily in glass with elements of jewelry fabrication. She explores the relationship between human beings and nature that exists on the outskirts of awareness and perception. Her pieces serve as a magnified impact of human presence upon a delicately formed representation of nature.

Masami was educated at the Pilchuck School of Glass and Cleveland Institute of Arts. She earned a BFA in art from Osaka University of Arts, and she received an MFA in ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, both with full scholarships. In 1996, Masami was awarded three separate grants from the Japan Foundation, Consulate General of Japan, and Japanese Association of Northeast Ohio. She is represented by the William Traver Gallery and has solo exhibitions there dating back to 1998.

As part of her Fellowship’s Meet the Artist requirements, glass/jewelry artist Masami talked about the importance of volunteering in the art community during a slide lecture to art students at the Department of Art at Western Washington University. She showed works produced from her school years to the present and talked about her experience and struggle to become an artist. After the slide lecture, there was Q&A and a student shared that he is having the same struggles and expressed relief after hearing of her experience. The connection with students, Masami noted, brought her back to her original intention of artmaking.