Maki was born and raised in small seaside towns in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. She played by the sea many hours and its sounds still reverberate through her. She drew manga with her brother throughout her childhood, and in high school became interested in painting and decided to attend art college where she studied as both an undergraduate and graduate student. Her biggest influences were the works of Giotto, Piero Della Francesca, and Fra Angelico. Particularly ingrained in her mind from these early formative years were the themes of love, rebirth and redemption from European artists and the place of nature in human lives.
Coming to live in Australia in 2005, she settled on Tamborine Mountain, has had two exhibitions a year, opened a gallery, and had a son. A busy life!
Maki writes: Living on a mountain, I often hear the music of a bird singing. Or see a lovely outline of a tree or the cloud and mountain shapes around. Hearing or seeing those, I can feel a burst of peace, a moment of super-quietness. Even for just a second, I can feel peacefulness. When it happens, it’s quite transforming.
For me, building a painting is really like trying to capture that instance of feeling. Nature brings me into some imaginary world that then expresses itself on my canvases. I try not to make a boundary between the real and not-real. In composing my painting, perhaps these borders can be erased and in seeing my painting, perhaps you too might have a feeling of hope and peacefulness.