I really like Tomoya Sakai's ceramic works. The colors and shapes of his ceramics give me a sense of harmony amidst their strangeness. Looking at them feels like gazing at countless tiny alien creatures.
Every time I go to IKEA's plushie section, I can't help but hug each and every plushie. I think this might be something universal—the sense of comfort we find in round, fluffy, and soft objects.
But what should I turn into a plushie? During the brainstorming phase, I tried to start from the feelings plushies give me, drawing inspiration from the healing, playful, and curious aspects. My hope is to use plushies to create "things I want to hug."
Drawing from Tomoya Sakai's aesthetic, I attempted to use Midjourney AI to generate design references. I find that these peculiar, fantastical creatures possess a certain imperfect beauty. To me, these strange little creatures reflect each of us—we are all uniquely ourselves. By turning these odd little creatures into plushies, I hope to convey the concept that "we can all embrace the strangest parts of ourselves.”
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Compared to my undergrad years working on fashion design, I find that the time spent making plushies is a kind of healing for me. Sewing garments was always a painful process for me, especially since my training demanded no errors. However, this time, working on plushies feels like a liberation from my past. It doesn't need to be perfect; it can have flaws, it can be asymmetrical. In the process of making them, it's as if I'm embracing my imperfect self, and I feel deeply content.
