DECO 40th Anniversary CLAY FESTIVAL

About

About our 40th anniversary

DECO Clay Craft Academy celebrated its 40th anniversary in June 2021. We are sincerely grateful to everyone whose generous support made this possible.

Since we opened our first classroom in 1981 as a new genre of handicraft, the works created here have been passed from hand to hand, spreading across Japan and around the world to this day.

In a time when we could not meet as we wished, we were able to hold this online event to celebrate together with everyone who has walked alongside us.

We hope the CLAY FESTIVAL brings you closer to DECO friends around the world, and a little hope for tomorrow.

40th Anniversary Work

Flowers Bring Us Together

To celebrate our 40th anniversary, DECO Clay Craft Academy instructors around the world created a special joint work, "Flowers Bring Us Together." Crossing borders, 278 people from 15 countries took part, bringing phalaenopsis, cymbidium, cattleya and roses together in one monument worthy of the occasion. A circle of DECO friends, connected through one work. Please enjoy its beauty.

Episode

Watch how the anniversary work came together.

i. Yukiko visits the orchid makers at work
ii. Yukiko looks at how our online lessons began
iii. Orchids arrive in Hawaii from around the world
iv. Finally complete: finishing the anniversary work

Greeting from Kazuko & Yukiko

Greeting

Kazuko Miyai, Yukiko Miyai and our headquarters instructors share their anniversary greetings, along with warm messages from instructors across Japan and overseas.

With the support of so many people, DECO Clay Craft Academy has reached its 40th year. We are sincerely grateful for every meeting and every kind word that has carried us here. Clay craft, a new genre of handicraft that began in the palms of our founder Kazuko Miyai, has passed from person to person over 40 years and spread around the world. All of us will keep working together to share the joy of giving shape to ideas, and the pleasure of brightening daily life with your own hands, with as many people as we can. Thank you for your continued support.

Kazuko Miyai, Founder Kazuko Miyai

Founded DECO Clay Craft Academy in 1981. She has worked to spread clay craft that is easy for beginners and brings colour to daily life, always bringing a feel for the times and original techniques and designs to her work in Japan and abroad. Author of many books from NHK Publishing and Makosha. In 2011 she published a collection of works by 450 participants alongside the 30th anniversary exhibition. She took part in NHK's "Oshare Kobo" and the national Handicraft Festival exhibition for 25 years, and appeared on TV Asahi's "Tetsuko no Heya."

Yukiko Miyai

Founded DECO Clay Craft Academy Hawaii in 2000. Creating light flowers and tropical flowers with DECO's original soft clay, she has spread clay craft to Japan, the United States, Russia, Europe and Asia, always embracing new ideas, original techniques and designs. Her books include "Flowers," "Clay Art for All Seasons" and "Clay Art for Special Occasions" from a Hawaii publisher, and "Hana no Gift" from NHK Publishing in 2011. She has appeared twice on the American TV program "Martha Stewart Living."

Artwork by Kazuko Miyai & Yukiko Miyai

Anniversary works

Works by Kazuko Miyai and Yukiko Miyai.

Belle Femme

宮井和子 Kazuko Miyai
宮井友紀子 Yukiko Miyai

Flowers on My Mind

宮井和子 Kazuko Miyai
宮井友紀子 Yukiko Miyai
With Chenli Garcia-Wang

Royal and Wise Hanashobu “Iris”

宮井友紀子 Yukiko Miyai
With Chenli Garcia-Wang, Mitsuko Hiraga

Items used in these works

Belle Femme: DECOMAGIC Elite, CLAYCRAFT by DECO Soft Clay, Compound Clay (new in 2022), Lucent Clay, silicone hydrangea leaf mould
Flowers on My Mind: DECOMAGIC Elite, CLAYCRAFT by DECO Soft Clay, Compound Clay (new in 2022), Silky Smooth Clay, silicone lilac leaf mould, silicone multi flower mould, silicone ranunculus mould, silicone cosmos mould, silicone peony mould
Royal and Wise Hanashobu “Iris”: DECOMAGIC Elite, CLAYCRAFT by DECO Soft Clay, silicone peony mould, silicone lily mould, plastic D mould

Visit the online shop

DECO Headquarters Exhibition Pieces

Works by our headquarters instructors

DECO

上原尚子 Naoko Uehara
梅﨑華子 Hanako Umezaki
八髙朋子 Tomoko Yako

Cherry Blossom Bonsai

上原尚子 Naoko Uehara
梅﨑華子 Hanako Umezaki
八髙朋子 Tomoko Yako

Tropical Breeze

宮井友紀子 Yukiko Miyai
Chenli Garcia-Wang
With Mitsuko Hiraga

Garden of Cakes

宮井友紀子 Yukiko Miyai
Chenli Garcia-Wang
Yokina Ikei

Words of Inspiration in Celebration of the 40th Anniversary

Words of Inspiration

Works that put our 40th anniversary into words, sent from countries around the world and regions across Japan. Each one is a beautiful marriage of a word worthy of the occasion and DECO clay craft, carrying heartfelt feelings for DECO Clay Craft Academy.

JAPAN / 和

Japan / Hokkaido

瀬戸恵子 Keiko Seto
坂井田貴恵 Takae Sakaida

JAPAN / 絆

Japan / Tohoku

妹尾文美子 Fumiko Senoo
佐々由香利 Yukari Sasa
庄司ゆり Yuri Shoji

JAPAN / LOVE CLAY ART

Japan / Kanto

尾﨑薫 Kaoru Ozaki
中野渡友子 Yuko Nakanowatari
渋谷弘美 Hiromi Shibuya
丹波久美子 Kumiko Tanba

JAPAN / Enjoy My Life

Japan / Tokai

堀内恵 Megumi Horiuchi
齋藤朋子 Tomoko Saito

JAPAN / HAPPY

Japan / Kansai

二保幸子 Sachiko Niho
小石由利子 Yuriko Koishi
生野真紀 Maki Ikuno
中野真由美 Mayumi Nakano

JAPAN / HOPE

Japan / Chugoku and Kyushu

茂刈孝子 Takako Mogari
出島知子 Tomoko Dejima

TAIWAN / PASSION

盧芷芸 Chihyun Lu / P
姜玟卉 Joanna Chiang / A, S, S
洪秀芬 Kiki Hung / I
羅其恩 Chi En Lo / O
林汶親 Alice Lin / N

USA & CANADA / CREATIVE

Agnes Hoi Lam Ung / USA / C
Gary Yoshimi / USA / R
Cherrie Cruz / USA / E
Tracey Paul / Canada / A
Diane Phillips / USA / T
Jo Ann Chang / USA / I
Chenli Garcia-Wang / USA / V
Lorie Taylor / USA / E

SINGAPORE / UNIQUE

Rose Yim / U,N
Vickie Lee & Ji Hong / I
Vickie Lee / Q
Ji Hong / U
Vikie Lee & Ji Hong / E

RUSSIA / DECO

Olga Petrova / RUSSIA / D
Elena Doroshenko / RUSSIA / E
Yulia Kornukova / RUSSIA / C
Yulia Gordeyko / RUSSIA / O

RUSSIA & LATVIA / УРА

Elena Navon / Russia / Y
Irina Fedorova / Russia / P
Marina Koroleva / Latvia / A

RUSSIA & UKRAINE / INSPIRATION

Maria Sotnikova / Russia / I
Julia Osipova / Russia / N
Natalia Savik / Russia / S
Alesia Kozlovskaya / Russia / P
Nina Terekhova / Russia / I
Julia Shepeleva / Russia / R
Elena Ponomarenko / Russia / A
Anna Bliznuk / Russia / T
Evgenia Gusakova / Russia / I
Katherine Bondarenko / Ukraine / O
Daria Batueva / Russia / N

RUSSIA / СПАСИБО (UKRAINE, LITHUANIA, LATVIA)

Maria Sotnikova / Russia / C
Maria Jukova / Ukraine / П
Alexandra Pevcova / Lithuania / A
Natalja Sumlasa / Latvia / C
Zoya Chaplina / Russia / И
Galina Bakushina / Russia / Б
Julia Fedorchenko / Russia / О

HONG KONG / FRIENDSHIP

Dorothy Tong
Betty Yeung
Elain Wan
Heidi Lee
Puiyi Yuen
Vickie Ngai
Vivian Lau
Karina Poon

LATVIA & LITHUANIA / WE♡DECO

Aija Kalnina / Latvia
Olesja Cebotarjova / Latvia
Taisija Gromova / Latvia
Marina Potjomkina / Latvia
Irina Zdanova / Latvia
Jelena Vitulina / Latvia
Ksenija Jefimova / Lithuania
Silva Zubaviciene / Lithuania

Works Gallery

To mark the 40th anniversary, we are sharing works by 389 instructors from around the world. Please enjoy the many sides of DECO clay craft: flowers, tile paintings, miniature houses, cakes and more.