• Sonoko's creations serve as protective spaces for personal memories
• She is inspired by the landscapes and sensibilities she grew up with in Japan
• She hopes her pieces show that beauty can be found in everyday life

Sonoko Matsuda creates glass boxes that she casts, engraves and polishes herself. She began working with glass at Tama Art University, and completed a master’s degree at Tokyo University of the Arts. Sonoko began with glassblowing, but later moved to casting techniques, which allow for a slower, more reflective creative process. Her main body of work, Boxes of Time, consists of glass boxes that serve as small, protective spaces for personal memories and meaningful moments. “Life is not always bright, but moments of light exist, and the Boxes of Time are designed to quietly protect those moments,” she says. Sonoko hopes her work helps people realise that beauty is not out of reach, but present in everyday life. Inspired by Japan’s natural environment, her pieces reflect landscapes, culture and a way of living in harmony with nature.