About Mia Kanazawa

Welcome to KANAZAWA! For the past 15 years I have enjoyed and been challenged by transforming wool into handfelted sculptures. Felting is an ancient process of creating textiles. It wonderfully utilizes the unique properties of the wool fiber. With the addition of water, pressure and agitation, a tangled mass is created which can be sculpted into a myriad of fanciful shapes.

I started out as a modern dancer, and movement still informs all my work. I am interested in the labor-intensive transformative process of making handmade felt, as well as making objects such as puppets which in turn someone else interacts with and brings to life. I have created work for galleries, museums, theatres, parades, and festivals in the United States and abroad.

Puppets

Each of my puppets has a simplicy and elegance of line as well as an unique sense of character.and has been enjoyed by children, adults, teachers, therapists, and performers all over the world.
Handpuppets: Heron, Clownfish, elephant, Cardinal, Fox, Raven, Parrot, Kangaroo & roo, Dove
Fingerpuppets: Puffin, Puppy, Nesting bird, Kitty, Whale, Turtle, Snail, Fox, Penguin, assorted birds and cranes

Sculpture

I tend to work in series, so here are some of them:

• Skin Series
• Fetal Elephant Series
• Buddha Series
• Daruma Series
• Public Art

Theater

For 20 years I have worked with designer Debby Lee Cohen and Mark Kindschi, building giant puppets for theater and public events:

• Urban Bush Women
• David Rousseve
• Meredith Monk
• New York's Greenwich Halloween Parade
• HBO
• Houston Grand Opera
• PBS's Kratt's Creatures
• Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

Shows

Every Year

• Eliot Coleman's Vegetable Stand
  609 Weir Cove Road, Cape Rosier, Maine
  Mon - Sat 1 - 5


• Common Ground Fair
  Unity, Maine
  Fri - Sun in September


• Eli Phant
  253 Congress Street
  Portland, ME 04101
  eli-phant.com


• Island Artisans
  99 Main Street
  Bar Harbor, Maine 04609

Fall 2010

• 5th Annual Open Studio
  at Essentially Felt
  864 Pushaw Road
  Glenburn, Maine 04401
  Fri - Sat November 26-28, 11 - 4 pm
  essentiallyfeltopenhouse.com


• 11th Annual 10x8 Show
  Bay School, Blue Hill, Maine
  Saturday, December 11
  10 - 1 preview at 9:30


• 4th Annual Aarhus Gallery Extravaganza
  Main Street, Belfast, Maine
  November 5 - December 24th
  aarhusgallery.com

Contact

Mia Kanazawa
631 Weir Cove Road
Harborside, ME 04642
mktwo@localnet.com
207/ 326-9065