RE JIN LEE, A CERAMIC ARTIST WITH DEEP APPRECIATION FOR THE INTERPLAY OF TRADITIONAL CRAFT AND CONTEMPORARY ART, EMBRACES A MODEST ROLE AS A CONTRIBUTOR TO THE ARTISTIC COMMUNITY. RECOGNIZING THE CHALLENGES THAT INDIVIDUALS MAY ENCOUNTER IN PURSUING AND SHOWCASING THEIR ARTISTIC PASSIONS, RE JIN IS MOTIVATED TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE SEEKING TO EXPLORE THEIR CREATIVITY DESPITE LIMITATIONS.

Naiana translated from Korean means: It’s me, me | 나야 나

It was also my mother’s username of choice.

Nami is a simplified spelling of my mother’s name: Nam Hee | 남희

So it reads: It’s me, me Nam Hee.

My mother was a constant and passionate supporter of the arts while also supporting children at risk and from underserved communities.

After her passing in 2018, donation request letters from the organizations she had been quietly supporting for years started to pile up.

When she was a little girl, her teachers urged my grandparents to invest in her extraordinary artistic talent. But my grandparents couldn’t afford it. While art education wasn’t a reality for her, she made sure that I and many others had the opportunity to pursue it and thankfully she returned to painting later in her life. My mother was an exceptional artist.

Little Nam Hee is the force behind Naiana Nami, I’m just picking up her mail. ~ Re Jin