For the last forty years Kimiko Koyanagi has lived in Burlington, but was born and married in Japan - a third generation member of the Muraoka doll-making family of Tokyo. Following the family tradition since childhood, for more than fifty years now, she has both mastered the intricate techniques of fashioning doll-like sculptures from Paulownia wood shavings and at the same time evolved a style of artistic expression which is unique to herself and profoundly moving to the sensitive observer.
Kimiko’s works have been widely exhibited in Canada, Japan, the United States and Mexico, both in group and individual exhibitions during the last fifty years. She is probably the only person outside of Japan who uses this Chinese White (chalk) technique in creating her works and she has begun to teach a fourth generation in her chosen homeland of Canada.
Kimiko has been sculpting these tall, slender, female figures since childhood. Each doll takes several months to create, involving traditional Japanese practices. Combining paste, rice paper and finely ground wood shavings, the artist makes a base from which the figure is carved and sanded. The pigment, made from powdered seashell is applied next. The final painting is a mixture of seashell powder and watercolour.
The first impression is that Kimiko’s sculptures represent simplicity and beauty. However, beneath the angelic beauty and serenity of the dolls, Kimiko expresses her deepest emotions and philosophies. The sculptures are a unique modernization of an ancient Japanese tradition, which Kimiko uses as a vessel to express her innermost thoughts and spiritual feelings.
