Taiji Miyasaka, a professor in the School of Design and Construction at Washington State University, came to MadArt with a unique, architectural approach to his installation. Miyasaka responded to the various conditions of MadArt Studio by creating three spherical sculptures that independently investigated the light, scale, and atmosphere of the physical space. Though bound by form, each sphere uniquely related to the studio’s environment through its distinctive material and method of assembly.

The largest of these sculptures – a thirteen-foot inhabitable clay and wood sphere – was created through a traditional method of Japanese earthen wall construction. To learn these techniques, Miyasaka worked with a group of master plasterers both in his native town of Kyoto, Japan and in Seattle.

The participating Japanese plasterers held demonstrations of their traditional methods of soil application at MadArt Studio and allowed visitors an inside look at a practice that has been in place for over 1,300 years.