OAMI POWERS is an American figurative artist raised in California & New Zealand who now calls Raleigh, NC home. She studied sculpture and painting in high school and graduated from the University of Canterbury with a BA in Art History and Classical Studies.
Oami’s earliest memory is of building an elaborate “installation” made of blocks and toy cars in the living room as a toddler. In her late twenties she started a women’s clothing line with a friend and spent many years designing clothing and textile patterns. In 2016, she returned to a fine art practice, and in 2020, began making ceramic sculptures. She uses a slab building technique taught to her by Cristiana Cordova, and both traditional fired glazes and cold finishes. Oami is endlessly fascinated by the human form and is inspired by her personal history, and a love for cultural histories in the form of mythology and folklore. She works from her studio at Artspace where she was Regional Emerging Artist in the spring of 2018.
