Artist's Bio

All the artwork represented on this website (unless otherwise specified) is the work of artist Dawn Nakashima. Dawn is a native Californian who grew up on a produce farm in Livingston, CA. She is a graduate of Livingston High School and has an undergraduate degree from San Jose State University (BS – Industrial Design) and a Master of Fine Arts degree (studio arts) from Mills College in Oakland where she studied with Hung Liu and Anna Valentina Murch. When asked to describe the kinds of artwork she does Dawn responds this way: “It’s a lot of mixed media. I like to do painting and drawing but also like a sculptural aspect to things. My favorite thing to do is to build things.” (see the Cage series)

Some of the artists that Dawn admires are Eduard Vuillard, Richard Diebenkorn, Red Grooms and Alexander Calder. For their marketing and merchandising prowess Dawn looks to Andy Warhol and Keith Haring . Dawn is also a fan of various types of Folk Art because of its directness and honest use of materials. (see Clyde Jones)

Another influence in Dawn’s artistic life would be her mom Caroline. “When we were growing up I remember doing a lot of projects from the pages of Sunset and Better Homes & Gardens. A Sunset article featuring SF artist Ruth Asawa on how to make bread dough clay figures was especially memorable. Mom took a lot of art and photography courses from the local junior college so I got exposed to a lot of different mediums that way.” Dawn’s father Tom was another maybe not-so-obvious influence in pursuing a career in art. “My dad is a farmer and he LOVES what he does. It was great to grow up around someone who is so passionate about what they do.”

Dawn resides with her husband Jonathan, daughter Aya and their kitty Cho-Cho in Berkeley, California.