About
Marina Van Raay is a Canadian Japanese ceramic artist based in Hamilton, Ontario. She is a graduate of the bachelor’s program in Craft and Design at Sheridan College. Drawing from childhood memories, Japanese pop culture and her experiences navigating Japanese and Canadian cultures, Van Raay creates work that explores how personal and collective histories become embedded in objects, shaping our sense of identity, memory and belonging. Her work often investigates the connection between contemporary culture and nostalgia, combining traditional ceramic processes with experimentation in surface design, coloured clay and pattern making.
Embracing play as a design method, Van Raay aims to capture its essence throughout the making process. She embellishes and decorates her work both before and after glaze firing, allowing spontaneity and emotion to guide her creative process.
Van Raay has shown her work in exhibitions across Canada and the United States while continuing to develop her practice through studio work, residencies and opportunities within the ceramics community. She was awarded the Tom Phillips Prize in 2026 by the Ontario Arts Foundation and the Helen Copeland Memorial Award in ceramics from Craft Ontario.
Photo by artist.
