Mauka, 2023

Collectable Art Object made by Nina Mastiff.

Nina Mastiff is a multimedia illustrator/ceramicist working with ideas of childhood nostalgia and playful organic forms. Her pieces are shaped by growing up between cultural influences from South Korea, Sweden, and Hawaii.

Mauka & Makai (Mountainside & Oceanside) are twin landscape pieces referencing the phrase, “Home is where the heart is.” My home and heart has always been in places surrounded by a mountain or body of water. “Mauka,” is a directional term for mountainside, and “Makai,” is the oceanside in Hawaiian. The small white illustrations on each piece are from a love story from two of my homes. The wave, with birds from a Korean folk tale, 칠석(Chil-seok) and the mountain, with half flowers from the Hawaiian legend of Naupaka. Both pieces are hand painted, and hand built from Nara Porcelain. Each clay body was mixed with mason stains to achieve their natural base colors.

Dimensions (approx.)

(H)5 1/2 x (W)5 1/1x (D)5 1/2 inch