Kazuya Nakamura
Ise – Japan 

Kazuya’s love for the ocean brought him to Okinawa, where he met the charm of ryukyu glass and began taking glassblowing classes. Fond of the warm feeling of the recycled glass he apprenticed in Okinawa for five years before returning to his hometown to open his own studio. Named Deku Studio, he only uses Ise cider bottles as his material. Since the recycled glass cools faster, his process involves blowing, shaping, putting the glass back in the kiln repeatedly until he achieves his desired form. Known for his sense of balance, his work has a faint pale sea hue and wonderful translucency and texture. “I like the clearest things in the sea, the air, and the hearts of people. I want to keep sticking to expressing that transparency in glass.”