Born in Hawai'i in 1922, Toshiko Takaezu has been working with pottery for over fifty years. Today, she is considered one of the finest ceramic artists in the world. Early in her career, Takaezu developed an approach to art that combines techniques and sensibilities of both East and West. In the 1950s, she studied in Japan with master potter Toyo Kaneshige and in 1967 began teaching at Princeton University, which awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1996. Takaezu's distinctive art is represented in major collections throughout the world, including the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the American Craft Museum. Among the many other public honors she has received are the "Human Treasure Award" from the University of North Carolina, the New Jersey Governors Award, and Hawai'i's "Living Treasure" Award.