Road tripping, watching Japanese comedy
Aya Oki Salinas is a Japanese artist who has been based in San Bernardino, California, since 2014. She was born in Osaka and grew up in Nara, Japan.
Mrs. Oki completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in glass at the Aichi University of Education, Japan, and her dream of studying abroad in the States led her to go to California State University, San Bernardino. Awarded the Grants for Overseas Study by Young Artists from the Pola Art Foundation and the Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists from the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan, she completed her MFA at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2014. Since that time, she has been traveling the world as an artist and an educator.
Mrs. Oki’s interest of teaching in glassblowing brought her to many workshops and colleges as an instructor and a visiting artist; she is at St. Paul’s School for the 2023-2024 academic year. She hopes that she can give her students a love for glass and her technique of glass blowing is intended to express the true charm of glass. Her personal approach is born during the conversation she has while interacting with each piece and her work is created out of her desire to convey the real pleasure of blown glass.
Mrs. Oki’s technique has been developed and refined through residency and visiting artist opportunities around the world, including the U.S., Sweden, Italy and Japan. Her work is in collections including the Tacoma Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, the Museum of American Glass in Millville, New Jersey and the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York.