Isao Sanami Morrill is a Japanese-born and educated potter and painter based in Nova Scotia. In addition to studying pottery with several Japanese masters, she has also studied Western pottery methods with Don Morrill, her husband, and others. She has travelled the world to study her craft in such places as Mexico, Nigeria, where she studied the techniques of native peoples, and Southwestern United States.
In addition to pottery, she has become increasingly interested in painting, and has had her paintings shown in various solo, juried, and group shows in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and British Columbia since 1987. She has received many awards for her work in both pottery and painting, including a 2008 British Columbia Museum Association award, and has taught pottery classes in various community, craft, and school settings in Canada since 1978.
Artist Statement
I present my landscape paintings to show what we are today and to navigate among the changes that time brought. The change is constant and seeing it allows me to bring movement in my work. There are many ways to record what we see and feel. To me painting at the site is a way, since it leads me to see that I am a part of all that surrounds me beyond time and change. I do watercolor, soft pastel, oil pastel, and oil bar.
