Louise Hara | Louise Hara Design
The process of making defines the object. It also defines my relationship with the material at the moment of creation. Metal, fire, earth, wood, and water are my companions on this journey.
Born in Kyoto Japan, I lived in a Buddhist temple complex for my first five years. There, while climbing trees, listening to cicadas, and wandering under and about old wooden temples, I developed a fascination for structural details and stonework. I am still climbing trees, listening to cicadas (or spring peepers), and studying structures and stonework.
At the age of five, I boarded a freighter to the U.S. We lived first in Pennsylvania, before moving to Warrenton, Virginia. My parents were artists. They played host to a never-ending stream of other artists, students, and eccentrics. Many of these artists were tremendously influential people of the 60s and 70s who each left an indelible mark on me. Through instruction and osmosis in my father’s studio, I learned ceramics, painting, photography, welding, woodwork, Japanese architecture, and garden design. In formal training, I studied Japanese artistic traditions and later, architecture.
As an architect, I worked in housing, large public buildings including schools, aquariums, and shopping malls, and later specialized in hospital planning. I no longer practice architecture, but the fusion of design and function still brings joy. Over time, my earlier artistic inclinations reemerged. I have pursued painting, photography, and now metalwork. I currently work primarily in silver and copper to create jewelry and small sculptures.
The environment, architecture, practice of Chi Gung, and meditations influence me. The process of design, construction, and finish have been instilled on me since birth. The touch of hands, flame, hammer, saw, and other marks of the making process are individual to each piece I create. I spend much time researching and practicing methods, old and new. Although I may create a group of objects within a series, no two will be exactly alike.
Louise’s website
Born in Kyoto Japan, I lived in a Buddhist temple complex for my first five years. There, while climbing trees, listening to cicadas, and wandering under and about old wooden temples, I developed a fascination for structural details and stonework. I am still climbing trees, listening to cicadas (or spring peepers), and studying structures and stonework.
At the age of five, I boarded a freighter to the U.S. We lived first in Pennsylvania, before moving to Warrenton, Virginia. My parents were artists. They played host to a never-ending stream of other artists, students, and eccentrics. Many of these artists were tremendously influential people of the 60s and 70s who each left an indelible mark on me. Through instruction and osmosis in my father’s studio, I learned ceramics, painting, photography, welding, woodwork, Japanese architecture, and garden design. In formal training, I studied Japanese artistic traditions and later, architecture.
As an architect, I worked in housing, large public buildings including schools, aquariums, and shopping malls, and later specialized in hospital planning. I no longer practice architecture, but the fusion of design and function still brings joy. Over time, my earlier artistic inclinations reemerged. I have pursued painting, photography, and now metalwork. I currently work primarily in silver and copper to create jewelry and small sculptures.
The environment, architecture, practice of Chi Gung, and meditations influence me. The process of design, construction, and finish have been instilled on me since birth. The touch of hands, flame, hammer, saw, and other marks of the making process are individual to each piece I create. I spend much time researching and practicing methods, old and new. Although I may create a group of objects within a series, no two will be exactly alike.
Louise’s website