After presenting one of the winning designs for the “Nebraska by Heart” competition to celebrate the Nebraska Sesquicentennial, Joni Sakurada Hotz declared, “I’m not an artist.” And perhaps she is right. Her identity is not that of an artist. She is a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She has not had formal art training, and in fact, she studied to be a biologist. She is, however, creative. She fell in love with Japanese paper at a young age. She began with origami, with her first craft fair/demonstration at age 12. From there, she began creating various paper products utilizing washi, including cards, notepad covers, and bookmarks. Eventually, she began a small printing business, designing various advertising and promotional products for local businesses before finally exploring her need for artistic expression more freely.
Much of her inspiration is derived from living abroad, including a time in Japan, and travels to other countries. Always curious, she branched out into paper from all over the world, though Japanese paper, like a first love, holds a special place in her heart. While in Japan, she was introduced to the method of repairing broken pottery known as kintsugi. The process involves bonding the broken pieces together, which are then sanded, then the process is repeated until the repaired item is smooth again. Finally, rather than attempting to disguise the break, a fine coating of lacquer is applied to the seams and powdered gold is sprinkled over the lacquer. The finished piece, regardless of how rare or common it may have been before, is now absolutely unique. Kintsugi is the embodiment of the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, or flawed beauty - that beauty found in imperfection and the value found in uniqueness. This became a powerful influence for her entry in the “Nebraska by Heart” competition for which she designed and created a kintsugi heart, symbolizing the beauty and value that comes from surviving and healing from trauma and loss.
Her most recent work has taken the concept one step further. What does one do when life falls apart? While there are many ways to answer this question, Joni’s multi-media art expresses the answer to this question perfectly. You pick up the pieces and create beauty! Her abstract art uses a combination of various papers and acrylic paint that is both visually appealing as well as texturally intriguing. Perhaps the best description of her style is – ever evolving. Her active mind continuously explores new concepts and avenues of expression. When not creating art of her own, Joni nurtures the creative expression of others, and is a major source of artistic inspiration for those around her. Perhaps she isn’t an artist. Maybe she’s a work of art.
