I am hesitant to write anything about myself, because I find it doubtful than anyone has spare time to care about such things as this. But to my amazement, people have asked about my life, so I am adding this biography.

I was born in Kanazawa, Japan in 1968. I was the first child of parents that were surprised to have a child so long after they were married. I was a spoiled child that lacked for nothing. We moved from Japan to the United States when I was eight months old.

Growing up in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, I found myself being the translator for my parents who had limited understanding of English at that time. I could not rely on my parents for assistance in my homework because of their limited reading ability. That is, except for math. On the other hand they did rely on me to read legal documents and other materials that were far beyond my ability to understand. I believe this was the foundation for my self sufficiency in learning. I was figuring things out with limited knowledge from a very young age. Today I find this tendency to be a blessing and a curse. Ignorance is never a reason or excuse to keep from diving in head first into a new project.

My mother was not very happy moving away from her family to the United States. She made sure I was fluent in Japanese culture. I think she expected us to return one day to live. I learned to read Japanese before I was taught my English alphabet in school. I drew up with a traditional Japanese diet and was taught origami and other Japanese games at an early age. When I started kindergarten my classmates did not do any of these strange things so I spurned Japanese culture and was then immersed fully into American culture.

I was an awkward child, very shy. I did not handle change easily and would find myself easily upset, angry and quick to panic. Upon hindsight I may have had a mild autism like disorder. But in those days I was just a geek. I was also one of the very few Asian children living in our particular suburban town. Due to the pressure of trying to conform in a situation where I could not, and with very little coping ability, I found myself in deep emotional distress as a preteen. After several years of frustration, my parents decided to try sending me to Japan, where they thought I could blend. So at sixteen I was enrolled in a Japanese public school in a small city in rural Japan. I lived with my uncle for a while. I did not blend.

Life in Japan was a very interesting experience, for me and my teachers. I found the pressure to conform to be more intense than the pressures I faced in the US. However instead of being pushed beyond my limit, I discovered that rules could be broken while still following the rules. The nail that sticks out can bend instead of being hammered back in. My school had uniforms and very strict codes for appearance. I shaved half my head because there were no specific rules against it. Somewhere in all that chaos, I found some confidence. I learned to enjoy being different.

I knew I would eventually return to the United States, there were 3000 kanji between me and a Japanese High School diploma. But since I was in Japan, and I am my mother's daughter. I took the opportunity to learn as much about traditional Japanese culture as I could. I joined the Tea Ceremony club in school. I also tried the Ikebana club, but the flowers cost too much money. I learned to dress in Kimono, although I was such a scrawny thing I looked terrible in one. I also learned much about Japanese nightlife, but that story will not be told here.

After returning to the US, with no diploma, I took the GED test and worked as a bilingual tour guide. After a few years of grueling and unsatisfying work I retreated to the comfort of the local University. I started as a major in mathematical physics. I wanted to unlock the secrets of the universe. As I learned more about the powers of the universe, I decided that these powers should be kept locked. I switched my major to Biophysics and started the road to medical school. My father after all was a medical doctor in Japan. I graduated with a BS, Summa Cum Laude in 1995.

I had met John Healey while I was still at University. His studio was a few doors away from my mother’s Japanese gift shop. I assisted John just to watch him work. The process of developing new ideas into real sculpture fascinated me. With glass being John’s primary media back then, I was able to use my new education applied to optics. In the afternoon, I would stop at his studio, trudge through medical school applications and sweep the floor for him when I took a break from the paperwork. His real assistant quit six months before John’s first major Solo Exhibition. I agreed to assist just until the work for the exhibition was completed.

I became John’s business partner in 1997. We were very successful and when finances allowed we moved the studio to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We purchased a partially condemned old route 66 restaurant in 1999. Seven years later we are still working on renovations. Hopefully this is our last year for restorations.

The renovations were very physically hard on us. I was born with a malformed hip and the rigors of the labor finally degraded my hip to the point where I could not assist John in his work. I had just completed my first glass sculpture when I ripped my major hip tendon. Being stubborn and stupid, I refused surgery and I found myself walking with a cane and sitting most of the day. I used this opportunity to start small scale work, jewelry.

I found the small scale liberating . It allowed me to experiment with various materials and forms quickly. I started in glass and stainless steel wire, but progressed in time to silver and then gold. I would spend all my hours in a day working on intricate time consuming designs. Being physically limited helped me focus my mind. I discovered the power and intimacy of jewelry. How jewelry can transform a person. What at first seemed like shallow adornment was revealed to me as a way to reach another persons inner spirit. I started to be able to interact with people on a different level.

However while I was working on jewelry I designed in my mind the work I would do after my hip would be repaired. I was also studying many different techniques for the day when my body would do what I asked it to do. I had my hip replaced in 2004. Since then I have difficulty sitting. Not only because of the surgery, but I spent so many years in my chair, that I feel I can not stay still any longer. I picked up a hammer and started to cold forge bronze shapes. I incorporated a method of wire weaving I had developed while making jewelry. The first of these new designs is my Sculptural Bronze Baskets. I am currently finishing a basket that uses a figurative form. Soon I will add an additional technique to change the feel of the surface of these works.

These last couple of years I do not have my usual energy. I thought I might have used up all my energy, and my mind was starting to slip. However it seems I have a minor medical condition that can be resolved with a simple pill. So hopefully I will soon be back to my usual busy self.