Meet Katie.
On sisterhood and perilla leaves
Happy AANHPI & APIDA Heritage month! All month, I’ll be featuring phenomenal humans from the Asian diaspora, along with a snapshot of their creative work. Each of these friends is someone I treasure deeply and think you should know, learn from, support, and follow.
Meet Katie Ito.
“Sisterhood” Perilla Leaf Chalice Set
sculpture by Katie Ito
Artist statment:
The topic of belonging takes up a very fluid space in my identity, but there are times where it feels rooted and strong. Like this past summer, when I shared a picnic lunch in a park with a group of Asian-American women in Indy that my sister got connected to through a colleague-friend at school. We shared our food proudly and without shame about the spice levels or hurried apologies about the strong smells of kimchi or fish sauce. We shared stories of our joys and wounds, and the dance in between of being both Asian and American.
One of the women at the fellowship, Rachel, a Korean-American mother to triplets, found out that my Mom was growing Japanese perilla leaves in her summer garden and asked if she could have some. My Mom gladly delivered her a generous portion the next day. This sisterhood of Asian American women shared their food and their abundant belonging with me that afternoon. So here it is: a toast to a magical afternoon in the park, to strong and tender women, to fresh, garden-grown perilla leaves and exchanges of space that Asian women can take up and not apologize for 🌿
Katie Ito is an Indy-based artist, potter, and chef, with a recent fascination in mixing needlework with found, natural materials. Her recent group exhibition at Taylor University, “KINSHIP” in March of 2023 explored themes of hospitality and the table, intertwined with various joyous, painful, and funny moments of being a Christian Asian-American female born and raised in the Midwest. Katie is currently completing a one-year fellowship at the Harrison Center, focusing on arts administration and community engagement through food programming. In her spare time, she enjoys teaching clay classes at Yellow Door Ceramics Studio in Indy, learning how to master French and Japanese patisserie, and birdwatching at Eagle Creek!
Find and follow Katie here:
Katie is mostly found on Instagram @katie_ito and @_sobremesapottery, but I am best reached over dinner or a lavender honey latte! I love connecting with people and hearing their stories over food and drink!