Corinne Takara Okada
City Hall, City Clerk's Office
10300 Torre Avenue
Cupertino, CA 95014-3255
(408) 777-3223 phone
(408) 777-3366 fax
www.cupertino.org
CUPEQINO
CUPERTINO DISTINGUISHED ARTIST AWARD
NOMINATION FORM
ARTIST INFORMATION
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Nominated artists should reside and/or practice their art in the Cupertino area. Please provide
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Attach resumers) or narrative information of primary participant(s) in the proposed program as
well as appropriate endorsements and letters of support. When possible, please submit samples
of the art work in print, slides, photographs, videotape, or audiotape to ossist the selection
committee in making their choice. Samples will be returned if the request is made at the time
they are submitted.
NOMINATION SUBMITTED BY:
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(name, address and phone)
Please submit application by mail, or in person to the Office of the City Clerk, City of Cupertino, 10300
Torre Avenue, Cupertino, 95014. Applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. on the 3" Fridav of Mav.
CaU tbe City Clerk's Office at (408) 777-3223 if there are questions.
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CORINNE OKADA TAKARA
Resume
PERMANENT ART COllECTIONS
Kaiser Pennanenre Hospital Santa Clara, CA. 2006. Three ikebana sculptures (3.5' x 2.5' x 5")commissioned
for Main Lohby.
Children's Hospital Boston. Boston,:MA. 2006. Series of flower and leaves sculptures for neonatal
department.
Kaiser Permanente Hospital Santa Clara. CA. 2005. Three eight foot kimono sculptures commissioned for
centerpiece wall of Main Lobby.
Kaiser Pennanente Hospital Santa Clara, CA. 2005. Seven and a half foot wide butterfly.
Children's Hospital Boston at Waltham, MA. 2005. Three foot bunerfly in main lobby.
Private Collection of Jack Welch, Martha's Vineyard, NIA, 2004. Frost and Fire Butterfly.
Private Collection of David and Emily Portmck, San Ramon, CA, 2004. Firework Kimono.
The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. 2002. Jan Ken Pon Kimono
Children's Hospital Boston, Boston,:MA. 2004 and 2001. Two butterflies. One hangs above the second story
elevators and the other is in Children's intensive care hall.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Year of the Monkey Celebration, Sculptures by Corinne Okada Takara. C.S. Wo Gallery, Honolulu, HI. 2004.
The Fabric of Memories. d. p. Fong Galleries, San Jose, CA. 2003.
TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
Paper and Paint, L'attimde Gallery, Boston, MA. 2005.
Bending Metal. L'attitude Gallery, Boston, MA. 2003.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
AsianAmerican Women Artists Arsociation Juried Group Show, d.p. Fong Galleries, San Jose, CA. 2004.
Trinh Bash, Fuller Craft Museum, Boston, MA. 2005.
Japan-O-Rdma, artSPACE@16, Malden, MA. 2004.
Far OjfThe Runw.ry, Virginia Breier Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2003.
Time, Virginia Breier Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2003.
William Lipton Ltd., New York, NY. 2002.
Fruitr and Flowers. L'attitude Gallery, Boston,1fA. 2002.
Show of Shoes. Virginia Breier Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2001.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, (10yearAnniversary Show, Artistsfrom 10 diffirentcountries) Velvet da Vinci Gallery,
San Francisco, CA. 2001.
Lost and Found. L'attitude Gallery, Anna Maria Island, FL. 2001.
Valentine Show. Velvet da Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2001.
The Fine Art Associates, Honolulu, HI. 2001.
20 Favorite Book. Stanford Green Library, Stanford, CA. Illustrations displayed from The Book of Summer,
Frances Mayes, The Heyeck Press, 1995.
Book Works 7th Biennial Members' Exhibition. The San Francisco Main Library, San Francisco, CA. Illustrations
displayed from The Book of Summer, Frances Mayes, The Heyeck Press. 1994.
PRESS
Harper's Bazaar, The Irresistible S u'<.l Welch, pgs., 146,147. ButterflY sculpture featured in double page spread of S U'<.l
Welch in her home. January, 2006.
The Bosron Globe, GO! Weekend Section, Wrapper's Delight, May 13th, 2005.
HGTV, Crafters Coast to Coast, segment first aired December 2nd, 2004. Show episode highlights Corinne's
studio and the step by step creation of her artwork.
The Honolulu Star RuBedo, Scratch Paper, Corinne Okada Takara takes childhood lessons to heart in turning odds and
ends into whimsical pieces of art. pgs. B 1 and B 3. Febmary 26, 2004.
Connections, The Peabody Essex Museum Magazine, Art, Culture, Connections, pg.2. November/December
2003.
10399 Merriman Road, B, Cupertino, CA 95014 408996-9001
www.okadadesigrt.comcorey@okadadesign.com
CORINNE OKADA TAKARA
PRESS (Cont.)
The Stanfotd Magazine, Clas.ry Patchwork, pg. 79. September/October, 2003.
The San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Rtturn to Romance, pgs. 32 and 40. January 20, 2002.
Fashionlines.com. Fashion Finds, May 2002.
TEACHING
Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Mechanical Engineering Department. 115 C, Visual Thinking 1998 to 1999.
Foothill Community CoUege, Palo Alto, CA. lnlroduclicn 10 Painter Software. 1994.
Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Mechanical Engineering Department, ME 115 A. Figure Drawing Lecture.
1995 to 1997.
The Academy of Art, San Francisco, CA. Guesl speaker for Painter software. 1995 and 1996.
Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA. Art Department guest speaker on digital media and webgraphics,
1995.
The Center for Electronic Arts, San Francisco, CA. Gucst speaker for Painter Ioftware. 1993.
Stanford Sierra Camp, South Lake Tahoe, CA. Inslructor for adull craft workshops for Memorial Weekend Rtlreals,
1991 10 1998.
GRANTS AND AWARDS
Design Excellence in Entertainment. Project: Dogz II by P.F.Magic (contribution of animated cursors).
Communication Am, Interactive Design Annual4, 1998.
Design Excellence in Information Design. Project: VizAbility by Meta Design West (contributions of
illustration and animation). Communication Arli, Interactive DCiign Annualt, 1995.
First place in Fine Art 2-D Competition, Computer PiCNICS, 1993.
Recognition for Design Excellence in Symbol Design, Pn"nt Regional Design Annual, 1993.
Helen Bing Artist in Residence Grant, Stanford Alumni Association, 1993, (program operated from 1992 to
1994).
The GuiDa MacFarland Award in Design, Stanford University, 1990.
NON-PROFIT WORK
AAWAA, Asian American Women Artists Association, San Francisco, CA. Coordinated a group show at
cl.p. Fong Galleries in downtown San Jose, CA. Wrote call for entries, organized delivery and return of art as
well as organized installation of show. 2004.
Los Altos Parent Preschool. Los Altos, CA. Taught papermalring to preschool children. 2003.
Hidden Villa, Los Altos Hills, CA. Volunteer, Helped with art and craft projects for Halloween tour. 2003"
An Income of Her Own, San Jose, CA. Coach in day long entrepreneurial business workshop for teen girls.
1997.
The Indochinese Housing Development Corp., San Francisco, CA. Banquet program and invitation design,
1997.
The ]CCCNC Teahouse, Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA. Program design for In Search cif the I.iberated Obi
1996.
Friends for Youth, Redwood City, CA. Mentor to teenage girl in Daly City, CA. 1992-1995.
The Asian Pacific Performing Arts Festival, Oakland, CA. Program and poster design. 1993.
The Sansei Legacy Project, Alameda, CA. Newsletter graphics and logn design. 1993.
Asian American Dance Performances, San Francisco, CA. Program design for West Coast Sweep, 1992.
Greenbelt Alliance, Sa.n Francisco, CA. Volunteered graphic design skills for postcards and other print
materials. 1991.
MEMBERSHIP
AA WAA, Asian American Women Artists Association, Events Committee.
San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, Member of Artist Registry.
The Japanese American Citizen League.
EDUCATION
Stanford University, Bachelor of Arts in Design, 1990.
BORN
1968, Redondo Beach, CA.
CORINNE OKADA TAKARA
PRIOR CAREER
Illustrator and graphic design consultant for ten years (1990 to 1999). Corinne is also the mother of a six year
old boy and a 20 month old girl.
10399 Merriman Road, B, Cupertino, CA 95014 408996-9001
www.okadadesigncomcorey(iUokadadesign.com
Corinne Okada Takara
Press Release 5/5/06
Corinne Okada Takara grew up making pinwheels of hibiscus flowers and boats of bamboo
leaves. Although her family moved 13 times by the time she graduated from Stanford
University, a constant in Corinne's life was visits to her father's childhood home of Maw.
There she and her twin sister absorbed the plantation culture of the island and learned
various crafts from their toy designer father. They heard tales of paper apple wrappers
folded into kimonos for homemade dolls and stories of blankets sewn out of hundreds of
tiny Bull Durham tobacco bags. Used soda cans became Christmas tree ornaments and old
kimonos were patched into work clothes, children's clothes and fmally into quilts and house
slippers. Thriftiness and creativity mingled in wonderful harmony.
This whimsy infuses Takara's sculptural creations of wire and papers pressed of food
wrappers and other recycled artifacts. Her sculptures have appeared in galleries in Hawaii,
San Francisco, Florida, New York and Boston. Her works are in numerous private
collections and in the permanent collection of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem,
Massachusetts. Most recently she has created a series of sculptures for both the Boston
Children's Hospital and for the new Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Santa Clara. Corinne was
very honored to create pieces for a local hospital and in a period of two years has created
seven large pieces for Kaiser Permanente. The centerpiece sculptures for the main lobby wall
are three eight feet tall kimono sculptures that represent, sea, earth and sky. On the fourth
floor is a nine feet wide butterfly that is composed of different ethnic food wrappers all
purchased from stores in Santa Clara. This January, Corinne completed three ikebana
sculptures that hang behind the main reception desk.
Corinne has lived with her husband, Kurt, in Cupertino for seven years and they have two
children. The eldest, Cole, is in kindergarten at Stevens Creek Elementary and together
Corinne and Cole have created and performed a shadow puppet show for his class and will
be performing shadow puppet shows in the Alum Rock district of San Jose.
10399 Merriman Road, B, Cupertino, CA 95014 408996-9001
\vww.okadadesign.com cor~y{Q)okadadesigTl.com
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TODAY D3
I Paper: Hats inspired by Japanese, Okinawan aspects
HO'ltJLULU $TARilIJLi.t;T:~ i 'fHUR$!)AY, n:BRUHY 26, 2lJll3
Continued From 01
aluminum foil, they'd tell me to
wash it and hang it out to dry. It
was funny to see all the plastic
bags and foil flapping in the
wind.
"[ don't think that people in
Hawaii realize It's kind of a
unique thing. The only other
place I've seen that is In the
South, where they also had a
plantation history.'
"I appreciate the way people
were abie to use what they had
to create something beautiful,
how they'd make clothes with
rice bags. and occasionally you
would see a patch of a beautiful
silk kimono that would be part
of something really special."
Takara took these lessons to
heart in turning scrap pieces of
iabric, plastic netting, and milk
candy and crack seed wrappers
into whimsical paper..and-wlre
sculptures and wearable hats. A
few of her works are on view at
C.S. Wo through Sunday.
TAKARA didn't start as a re-
cydt- artist. She began her ca-
reer in the arts as a commercial
illustrator and graphic de~
signer. focusing on corporate
identity for the high-tech indus-
try in San Francisco, where she
still resides.
Thilt changed four years ago
when she gave birth to her son
and wanted to devote more
time to bim_ The timing, coin-
cidir:g with the t<:'.(:h bust.
cuuldn't have been better
'.Even it I had tried to stay in
it, j wouldn't have found work.~
she said, turning her attention
in more personal art pursuits.
She started working with
(<lmmercla! p,1pers but was
drawn 11) the translucent qual-
ity 01 the Chan Pan Mui and
blue rabbit illustration of the
milk candy wrappers that al!;o
reflected her Jzpanese heritage
and Hawaii ties. Fixed in her
imagination were tales of apple
wr,tppers folded into kimonos
{or homemade dolls, airport
grccti ngs marked by an ex~
<:hange ot crack seed leis, and
patchwork blankets stitched
tr,ml hllndred~ of tiny Bull
Durl:am tobacco bags.
'My lather made all his own
toys". ~h(> said. including boats
rnitde of leaves amI pinwh('els
of flowers Ik grew up to be a
IW;J(I (ksigm:r 'jl t(l)' giant Ken-
\1er and senior \'ire president of
product def-iWI <l.t MaUd.
Creativitv at home was en-
couraged, and at IJaHoween
lime. Takara never I\i"l.d to go
lrirk-or.tr('i\UrlG in a ShHC-
hOlll!ht C()~;tll!lle. She n:ITIPID-
bcr~ hN d.1.u helping ber lo
lIlilke a hog Hlil.sk out of a loam
cooler covered with pilpkr-
m;i,-hl'.
"I w<\S so youllg I thought 1
mad~ it. bilt H'<tlly. h~ made it:.
Tt\KAH/\ nll)f',,-T HAVE to
GEORGE l:t YOUNG pHorQ COURTESY CORINNE OKAOA TA.KAR...
Corinne Okada Takara
Exhibition 01 paper Scu[phlres:
Where: C.S. Wo Gallery, 702 S. Beretal1ia 5t.
When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Admission: Free
Call: 543-5388
Quotable: '" appreciate the way people were able to use
what they had to create something beautiful, how they'd
make clothes with rice bags, and occasionally you would see
a patch of a beautiful silk kimono that would be part of
something really special."
wait long to attra<:t an audl~
ence. Her first step was to con~
tact Union Square stores with
window displays. Tiffany was
staging an insect-Inspired Jew~
elry display, and it was a natu~
ral fit for Takara's butterlly and
dragonfly sculptures.
A gallery <:urator saw her
work and invited her to show,
which ledJo more displays in
Boston. New York and Florida.
Eventually, the translucent
quality of the wrappers she was
using led her to think of Cin-
derella's glass slipper, and this
resulted in a series of single
shoes. all full OfP05slblllUes of
one day finding a home on a
princess's foot. Some have
found homes in the private col-
lections of the head curator of
the Peabody Essex Museum
and other private collections.
Although the shoes are not
meant to be worn. Takara's
hats, inspired by Japanese kan-
zashi hair ornaments and Oki-
nawan dance hats, have made
many an appearance at San
Francisco social events.
The first hat she created was
a gifl lor French couturier
Chrlstian Lacroix, who made an
appearance at Neiman Marcus
San Francisco In February 2ool.
Takara had cn'.ated the scul(T
tural display as a backdrop to his
fashion show, and afterward the
designer returned twice to pho-
tograph her work. She re-
sponded by sending him a large
paper-and-wire flower hat in the
style of her sculptures, for which
she received a thank~you letter
that she ket!ps in her studio.
Her farolly remains encourag-
Ing, plying her with papers from
candy and crack seed they have
consumed. Her husband, Kurt,
who grew up in Nuuanu, also
eats his share of crack seed, but
recently, she says she's been
naughty, buying certain seeds
more for their wrappers than
their edIble qualities.
The couple dido't care for a
certain apricot.lemon combina-
tion, but with the wastefulness
taboo, they groaned through
the mouthfuls, "Ohh, gotta eat
those,~
,
Dear Members,
Most, if not all. museum professionals have been drawn
to this field by the opportunity to work with the art and
ideas represented in one or more collections. Even dur-
ing a busy day I try to steal a few minutes to visit the
galleries. From time to time in this letter I will mention
an artwork that has lately caught my eye. One of these is
a recent acquisition on view in the Japdnese Art Gallery.
It's a contemporary work titled Jon Ken Pan (Rock. paper,
scissors) in which artist Corinne Okada has drawn on
ideas, values, and methods from several artistic and
cultural traditions.
Almost the first thing I notice is the intense sky-blue
color. Also striking are the strong curves that make this
piece appear to be soaring through the air-conveying
a feeling of suspension that suits the title's reference to
the decision-making game found in many cultures.
Okada's sculpture of paper and wire recalls the kimonos and kites of traditional
Japanese culture-and also the mobile sculptures of Alexander Calder. The
materials of which Jon Ken Pon is composed include real scissors of the kind
used in Japanese flower arranging and the art of bonsai, wrappers from Asian
foodstuffs that Okada associates with childhood visits to relatives in Hawai'i,
and papers printed with Japanese comics. References to the artist's personal
past inevitably mirror the different cultural traditions with which she is familiar.
Jon Ken Pen exemplifies the interconnectedness of many forms of contemporary
artistic expression and demonstrates the rich complexity that results from
interactions among different artistic and cultural traditions. Such interactions
have characterized art from its earliest beginnings, and they are manifested in
works found in all of the museum's collections.
Abovt':Jon Ken Pon (Rock. paper,
scinors), 2001, Corinne Okada,
United States.
Cover: Mrs. Pere, Chordon Brooks. 1890,
John Singer SOllrgent. United StOlltes.
I hope you too will take time from your busy schedules to enjoy the galleries
and discover similar connections for yourselves.
oC<- ~
Dan l. Monroe
Executive Director and CEO