Joni Moriyama is a ceramic artist working with sculptural forms and functional vessels in her Toronto studio.

A close-up of a decorative object resembling a cluster of green leaves and thin green stems on a speckled white surface.
Black bowl with geometric patterns on a white background.

Small Sculpture and Vessels

Repeated units, shapes drawn from nature, gather. Small elements find their place over time. Vessels hold their composition within, cohesion emerges as the work takes shape.

My work begins with a form I have noticed — a shape, a structure, a rhythm found in nature. I repeat it intuitively, assembling piece by piece. Whether gathered into a vessel, built from cut planes, or connected along a wall, each piece works through relationships between parts. The result is uncertain until the whole emerges.
Potted plant with large green leaves with yellow veins in a white textured ceramic pot on a neutral background.
Stacked black and beige ceramic bowls with geometric patterns on a weathered wooden surface.

Domestic Objects

Made for use, shaped by teaching and by daily life — practical needs and studio rhythms guide their making, while form, surface, and proportion remain priorities. Making and living meet in each piece.