Amy Lee Segami had been a fluid-mechanics engineer for various corporations for several years when she began looking for a way to express her creativity and looked toward traditional Japanese arts. She mastered ikebana (flower arranging), cha-no-yu (tea ceremony), and sumi-e (brush painting). Her background in the precise science of fluid mechanics eventually drew her to suminagashi. “I discovered that art and science are connected. When you see formulas, you see pictures too.”
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Segami’s contemporary version of suminagashi has provoked some criticism from traditionalists, but she believes she is helping to promote Asian culture. “Asians are perceived as secretive. They keep traditional skills in the family, passing it on quietly. I say, “Here’s the information. Let’s do more with it.”‘
