Joni Moriyama works in ceramics, moving between small sculptural work, one-of-a-kind vessel forms, and pottery made to hold flowers and plants in the domestic setting. A recurring theme in her work is the repetition of ubiquitous forms found in nature — many small parts grouped into one visual statement that reminds the viewer of what is familiar, yet unique, when noticed. She works intuitively, and the result remains uncertain until the many parts come together to form the whole.

Through many years of teaching practice, Moriyama has cultivated her interest in ways the ceramic medium can move between the disciplines of art, craft and design. Concurrent with teaching and making, she has a committed interest in the mind/body connection with yoga and meditation that informs her work. How ideas move through nature, to design, to making, and how forms permeate the natural world and echo in our bodies and structures remains a concern.

Moriyama was born in 1960 and lives in Toronto, Canada. She graduated from the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) in 1984, and received an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1994. She taught ceramics and design at OCADU from 2000 to 2023, and continues to teach from her home studio. Her work is held in the collections of the Art Gallery of Burlington (Burlington, ON), the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery (Waterloo, ON), the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art (Toronto, ON), the Icheon World Ceramic Centre (Icheon, South Korea), and the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art (Alfred, New York).