Hiroko Sato-Pijanowski

Hiroko Sato-Pijanowski (née Hiroko Sato; January 1, 1942) is a Japanese jewelry designer, artist, author and educator. Sato-Pijanowski is credited with introducing Japanese materials and techniques to American metal working. and he introduced her to art. Sato-Pijanowski studied Japanese history at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1964. She moved to the United States to continue her education and study art, and initially attended California State University at Northridge, studying jewelry design. She moved to the metalworking program at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she earned her M.F.A. degree in 1968. In 1972, Hiroko and Eugene returned to the United States. Hiroko continued making and selling jewelry, renaming her business Hiro Limited. They were inspired by Mokume-gane, a Japanese traditional mixed-metal laminate process that creates a wood grain-look to the metal; they brought this technique to the United States and created a new polymer Mokume-gane bonding process. She has authored many articles on the topic of Japanese metalsmithing.

They were jointly elected Fellows of the American Craft Council in 2000.

Personal life In 1968, she married Eugene Michael Pijanowski, and Sato-Pijanowski returned to Japan.

Collections

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, New York