Aiko Morioka Biography Statement  |  Resume  |  Biography  |  Portfolio Born in Oregon, I spent my childhood on a farm in California before moving to San Francisco as a young adult. After a career as a Financial Planner and Co-owner of a SF based financial/tax advisory company, I left the security of that world six years ago and jumped head first into the unexplored territories of the right brain. It had been a 30 year detour before I rediscovered the artistic interests of my childhood. I used to love figure drawing in my youth, but the focus of a career in the corporate world led me away from what, I am now certain, I came into this life to do. The first time I touched clay six years ago, my hands began to move with a knowingness that both surprised and yet somehow remembered. At that moment I knew that inside that earthen clump was the answer to a yearning. A secret door opened that day. I’ve been walking into the unknown, trusting the path that has transformed me. Sculpture has become my life. During the last six years, I have devoured anything and everything about sculpture I could find. It was like drinking from a pristine stream after a long thirst. I began studying privately with local sculptors and have had the opportunity to study with many internationally renowned sculptors as well. I’ve traveled to Italy and Vermont to sculpt in marble and steel. I’ve exhibited in many local juried shows and have become known for the diversity of my figurative work. My work is collected nationally and has been featured in Bay Area newspapers on 12 occasions; twice on the front page. My sculpture is also published in “Art of Northern California”, “Marin Homes” and the soon to be released “American Art Collector”. In September of 2004, 11 of my bronze and ceramic sculptures were selected to exhibit at the Marin Designers Showcase. I am currently beginning work on a large bronze sculpture which will be installed in the plaza of a California business complex. Currently I am developing three separate bodies of work in the figurative genre. I let the clay tell me what waits to be released inside and how it wishes to be expressed. It can be representational, modern or earthy abstractions of the figure. I believe diversity keeps the creative process fresh.