Acorn Stew

"Acorn Stew"

When I was a child, my family occasionally went to a lake cabin in Wisconsin. In my sand bucket cauldron, I collected as many acorns as I could and watched them bob up and down in an Acorn Stew. 

Artist: Nikki Sugihara

Media: Collage, Graphite and cold pressed paper on linen

Dimensions: 21" x 17"

Mounted in a bass wood shadow box with sawtooth hanger on the back

Nikki Sugihara

A Chicago native, Nikki Sugihara is a textile artist and illustrator working out of her home studio in Beacon Hill. She received her Bachelor of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2021 and has been living and working in Seattle ever since.

Nikki is heavily influenced by her time studying and working in the architecture field. Her work traverses between scales, sometimes within a single project. She is intrigued by layering soft ambiguous textures against measured systems, often looking to the landscapes around her for inspiration.

Some of her works have been seen in the New York Times, The Local Project, and other publications in collaboration with local architects. Nikki also works at Interbay Wood and Metal where she is learning to fabricate and finish architectural metals.

Seeds Afloat is a series of textiles and drawings that capture different moments in the lifecycle of a seed. Across the body of work, rigid construction lines suggest a sense of structure and space, while the organic forms disrupt this grid, causing a tension between the two. 

By shifting scales throughout the work, different explorations can be made about the form and function of a seed. Zooming in focuses the attention on the seedpod as shelter, while zooming out gives greater context to the seed’s trajectory.

To see more of Nikki's work:

instagram @nikkisugihara

website www.nikkisugihara.com