Okja was born in Japan — her family moved to Korea when she was a small child. Â She married, and she and her husband came to America in 1966. Â Okja has four children. Â The family moved to Chicago, New York, and to Detroit, where her husband practiced medicine for 30 years. Â Okja and her husband moved to Laguna Woods Village about 6 years ago.
Okja and her husband traveled all over the world. Â During their travels, she was inspired by all the great works of art they saw. Â Okja is a multi-talented artist and, over the last 50 years, has done oil painting, oriental painting, china painting, wheel-thrown pottery, handbuilding, and sculpture. Â Many of the pieces she did in Michigan feature low-fire Cone 6 glazes. Â The glazes were applied with special brushes to achieve a watercolor look.
Since coming to Laguna Woods Village, Okja has been handbuilding and sculpting, including creating life-like busts of her four children. Â These sculptures are fired once, with an application of black gesso and metallic patina to finish the sculpture. Â She uses spray acrylic to preserve the finish.
Okja enjoys working with various clays that include Stoney White, Amador and Dark Brown. Â She enjoys experimenting and has recently made several slab vases using tar paper templates.
More photos of Okja’s work:
We are happy to have Okja as part of our Potters and Sculptors Club, and to showcase her beautiful art work as our Featured Artist for October!
