|
Work and Exhibitions
|
|
|
| 2006 |
Solo
exhibition, "The Tale of Heike", Art Beatus (Vancouver), Vancouver,
Canada |
| 2003 |
Open
a Doll making class |
| 2002 |
Open
a booth for "Tall Ship Festival" |
2002
|
Awarded
two 2nd Prize at the Kansas
doll show |
2001
|
Original
Doll show at "The Doll Museum Soleil" in Japan |
| 1998 |
Awarded
Bronze by "Yuzawaya art show in Japan |
| 1994
- 1996 |
Opened
a booth for "Powel street festival " |
1993
|
Displayed
" Ann of Green Gables and scarecrow " at the PEI Hotel |
| 1993 |
Presented
"Footie doll" to at that time Prime Minister Ms. Kim Campbell |
| 1990 |
Certificate
class of Modeling clay |
| 1989
|
Awarded
two First prizes at Canada Doll Lover's Society. Footie doll and
Fantasy
doll |
| 1986
-1989 |
Took
a porcelain doll class |
1980
|
Moved
to Canada |
| 1979
– 1980 |
Made
stuffing dolls for Infant monthly magazine in Japan |
| 1979 |
Start
doll making |
ARTIST STATEMENT
Original Dolls by Tomoka Ike
When I was a
child, I didn’t like playing with dolls. But
I loved reading the pages of a book where
dolls appear over and over, and was never tired of them.
Around the age of 10 I was making paper dolls
for my sisters and their friends. It
took almost 20 years since then for me to create dolls again.
I arrived in Vancouver as an
immigrant on a snowy day of December 8th in 1980. By the time I got to a hotel - which is gone
now - at English Bay, I was
quite attracted by this city and was thinking of a dream.
A dream of “showing my original dolls in this
city some day”. By that time I had been
making dolls with fabric for two years. It
has been 25 years and my life in Canada has been
more eventful than anyone could dream. I
have kept on making dolls.
On September 11th,2001 I was forced to be
reminded of my
old dream when we all realized that one could lose a life and a dream
in a
flash. I decided to pursue my dream as I
got laid off from my job due to the ripple effect of 9/11.
It took me a
whole year to decide on the theme of The Tale
of the Heike. Because the events in The
Tale actually happened in the history of Japan, because
it was during the unusually dramatic era of Japan, and
because I think The Tale has deeply influenced Japanese psyche.
The long time
stable Heian era started to waver and the
feudal era was on the horizon. The Tale
of the Heike depicts futility of struggle by force in order to achieve
the
power and the fortune. I was drawn to
many stories, based on the historical events of fragile dreams and
happiness. Adding my own spicy
interpretations I created these original dolls.
I made more
than 200 costumes and almost 30 accompanying
crafts. I used as much Canadian and North American materials as I could
find. Some old Kimono fabrics were given
to me to use on specific dolls by people who heard of my project. My 25 years old dream has been realized with
the support of many people like them. I am very grateful.
Tomoka Ike
池 共香 |
