Esther Shimazu is an American sculptor who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

 in 1957. Her grandparents were immigrant laborers from Japan. She attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Hawaii at Manoa

The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...

 before transferring to the University of Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...

 in Amherst, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Art in 1980 and a Master of Fine Art in 1982.

She is best known for her stoneware

Stoneware

Stoneware is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware with a fine texture. Stoneware is made from clay that is then fired in a kiln, whether by an artisan to make homeware, or in an industrial kiln for mass-produced or specialty products...

 sculptures of bald, nude chunky Asian women constructed with hand building techniques. They are colored with slips

Slip (ceramics)

A slip is a suspension in water of clay and/or other materials used in the production of ceramic ware. Deflocculant, such as sodium silicate, can be added to the slip to disperse the raw material particles...

 and oxides, bisque-fired

Bisque (pottery)

Bisque porcelain is unglazed, white ceramic ware Examples include bisque dolls.Bisque also refers to "pottery that has been fired but not yet glazed...

, hand-sanded, and colored further with rubbed-in and airbrushed oxides. Then they are fired to cone 5-6

Pyrometric cone

Pyrometric cones are pyrometric devices that are used to gauge heatwork during the firing of ceramic materials. The cones, often used in sets of three as shown in the illustration, are positioned in a kiln with the wares to be fired and provide a visual indication of when the wares have reached a...

 oxidation and sanded one last time.

She received a Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation Purchase Award, 2001, and an Individual Artist Fellowship Award from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts

Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts

The Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts was established by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1965 to “promote, perpetuate, preserve, and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawaii”...

, 1995.

Footnotes