Miyuki Akai Cook
Miyuki Akai Cook was born and raised in Japan. She enjoyed making things with her hands, such as drawing, painting, and paper cutting. She told us that she wanted to skip high school and go directly to college to pursue a desire fro interior design.
But while at Seian Woman's college in Kyoto Miyuki was introduced to fiber arts and enthralled her but stilled earned her degree in Interior Design.
When Miyuki was 25 she returned to the US and re-discovered an interest in textile while she was studying at University of North Texas. In 2006 she received MFA in Fiber/ Artisianry from University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth. She has been passionate for education and currently teaching at Marshall University. Learn more about Miyuki at miyukiakaicook.com.
Music was composed by Lyonel Bauchet and licensed through OmniMusic.com.
ArtVoiceWV is production of 78 Degrees West Inc, a 501(c)(3) devoted to telling the stories of West Virginia's creative artists. Major support for ArtVoiceWV is provided by Clara Ladd & David Graves and the Tamarack Foundation for the Arts. Additional support is provided by Sally & Jerry Berman, Karen & Rick Schneider, and The Morgan County Forum for Arts, Science and Technologies, Inc.
AJ Loftis
AJ Loftis was born in Charleston WV but was raised in Teays Valley, WV. She attended Marshall University in Huntington originally for graphic design but studied other art forms before focusing on fibers. In 2016, AJ was nominated for the first Tamarack Foundation's Emerging Artists Fellowship program. AJ plans to express herself through her creativity in whatever form it may take.
Music was composed by Chuck Lovejoy and licensed through OmniMusic.com.