Art Exchange and Technical Training with Emerging Artists

Our studio also welcomes young artists from overseas for training programs. While ceramic relief techniques are particularly popular, artists from Europe—the birthplace of stained glass—also visit our studio specifically to learn stained glass techniques.

Ukrainian artist Maria Shirchenko studied at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris (commonly known as Beaux-Arts). In 2018, she came to Japan through a short-term exchange program between Beaux-Arts and Tokyo University of the Arts. After completing her studies, she sought to further develop her ceramic production skills and, through an introduction from an acquaintance, applied for a training opportunity at CREARE Atami-Yugawara Studio.
From February 2019, Maria stayed at the studio residence for three months while receiving instruction in ceramic relief production techniques from the studio staff. At the end of her stay, she held a group exhibition at Kiunkaku, a historic landmark in Atami, together with four participants including glaze specialist Atsuo Suzumura and female studio staff members.
“I want to stay in this wonderful environment forever. I feel that if I were here, I could create many different works,” she said, returning home with a sense of reluctance to leave.

After hearing about the studio from Maria Shirchenko, Russian artist Alisa Nikolaeva applied for training in ceramic relief techniques at CREARE Atami-Yugawara Studio.
After graduating from the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris (commonly known as Beaux-Arts), she worked at a production studio in Paris. Having studied environmental art as well as painting, sculpture, and design, she wanted to broaden her artistic perspective and decided to acquire Japanese ceramic production techniques.
Her arrival in Japan was repeatedly postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she was finally able to stay at the studio for three months beginning in September 2023.
Under the guidance of glaze specialist Atsuo Suzumura, she studied glaze formulation and sculptural techniques. She also participated in a research workshop held at the Shigaraki Ceramics Research Institute, eagerly absorbing Japanese techniques in ceramic production and glazing.
After returning home, she shared images of the works she created during her stay on social media. Reflecting on her experience, she said, “The studio is spacious, clean, and surrounded by a wonderful green environment. For three months, I was able to devote myself completely to creating, without having to think about caring for my one-year-old daughter or doing household chores. It was a truly precious and luxurious time.”

Artist Lara Bris came from Australia to study ceramics and underwent a one-month training program at “CREARE Atami–Yugawara Studio” starting in April 2026. Although her experience with ceramics had been limited to making clay figurines on her days off, she fell in love at first sight when she saw a large Ceramic Relief created by the studio online.“I want to create large-scale artworks like those,” she said when she applied. At the studio, she received meticulous guidance from the staff on everything from the basics of clay modeling to the technique of “hira-guri” (hollowing out the back of an artwork—as excess clay volume can cause the artwork to explode in the kiln) and glazing methods, and she created three artworks during her stay.She said, “I hope to one day display this studio’s large Ceramic Relief artworks in public spaces in Australia.”

Marjorie Sosi came from France—the home of Stained Glass—to study the art for one month starting in May 2026. I asked her, a fourth-year student at the Paris School of Stained Glass, why she went out of her way to come to Japan to study, and her answer made perfect sense.
In France, work in Stained Glass is almost exclusively limited to restoring church Stained Glass; there are few commissions for artistic pieces. She had a desire to create art using Stained Glass as her medium, and after hearing from an acquaintance in Paris that our studio creates large-scale Stained Glass artworks, she reached out to us.
Since she had mainly studied glass painting at vocational school and hadn’t learned techniques like glass cutting, she completed her assignments under the guidance of her supervisor. Her supervisor commented, “You work quickly because you have a solid foundation.”During her stay, she bonded with the staff at a barbecue party held on the studio’s terrace. She also toured Tokyo Metro stations to see the Stained Glass artworks created by the studio and was deeply impressed by their beauty. “The month flew by. I’ll definitely be back,” she said before returning home.