Lee Ko’s earliest artistic influence came from her grandfather, a war veteran who collected traditional Korean ceramics.
Sitting beside him as he cleaned and cared for the pieces, Ko listened to stories from his life – moments that left a lasting impression.
Today, the North Carolina artist draws inspiration from the quiet beauty and balance of traditional Korean craft.
Artist: Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Ko received her BFA in craft arts from Konkuk University. She continued her studies there to earn an MFA in metalwork.
During her time in school, she also explored ceramics, woodwork, and sculpture. These experiences laid a strong foundation for her current approach to using different materials in her art.
During her first solo exhibition in Seoul, she met a professor from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) who encouraged her to continue her studies in the United States.
That conversation eventually led Ko to Rochester, NY, where she earned her second MFA in metal crafts and jewelry from the School of American Crafts at RIT.
After graduation, Ko and her husband relocated to the Charlotte area so he could pursue his PhD in the information technology department at UNC Charlotte.
Company/studio: Ko’s art practice (workbylee) and community projects are based in her home studio in Waxhaw, near Charlotte.
The space supports a wide range of processes – from small-scale metal work to hand-built ceramics and kiln firing.
In addition to her art practice, Ko is involved with these community projects:
- Hands On Well (handsonwell.org) began in 2013 to build clean water wells in underserved communities. Over time, it expanded into a broader community initiative that now includes collaborative art projects, cultural programs and charitable work.
Through Hands On Well, Ko organizes community-based cultural initiatives, such as the first “Korea in the Queen City” in 2025. Plans for a 2026 event are in the works.
- Studio Goyuum (goyuum.com), also established in 2013, focuses on custom hand and foot casting, often working with families who want to preserve meaningful moments in sculptural form.
All of Ko’s work is developed in her home studio. Depending on the project, she sometimes travels to clients’ homes or studios, like LoSo Studio in Charlotte, for casting sessions.
In the beginning: Ko grew up in a large extended family in Seoul. Her parents were busy running a business so she spent much of her childhood with grandparents, aunts and uncles.
“My grandfather, a veteran of the Korean War, had a particularly strong influence on me,” said Ko.
“He collected traditional Korean ceramics, and I often sat with him while he cleaned and cared for the pieces,” she said. “He would tell stories from his life while holding the objects in his hands. Those evenings left a lasting impression on me.”
Among his collection was a small Goryeo celadon ink paste box that fascinated Ko as a child.
“I was drawn to its quiet color and delicate form,” said Ko. “I remember thinking that I would love to make something like that one day.”
When she entered university, Ko initially planned to study ceramics and joined the crafts department. Instead, she discovered metal and eventually focused on metal craft.
After her four children were born beginning in 2007, Ko paused her studio practice for many years while she focused on raising her family.
Around 2014-2015, she slowly returned to making art through morning classes at Charlotte Clayworks while her children were in preschool. From there, Ko gradually rebuilt her studio practice.
Art & materials: Sculptural structures and wall-based installations with neutral tones, using materials, including clay, metal, reclaimed glass, reclaimed metal and textiles. These larger works range from $3,000 to $20,000.
Many of Ko’s works are built from repeated small units that come together to form larger structures.
“I am interested in how individual elements can create rhythm, movement, and a sense of collective strength when assembled together,” said Ko.
Ko is also drawn to materials that carry a previous life – such as reclaimed metal, glass or textiles – but rarely uses them in their original form. Instead, she transforms them so they can begin a second life in the work.
For example:
- Recycled electrical wires are stripped down to their pure copper and reshaped into floral forms.
- Glass bottles, collected after performances at a Charlotte concert hall, are processed through recycling and then melted together with glaze in the kiln, creating glass-like surfaces on her ceramic work.
Ko has recently created smaller functional work, including plates and dipping bowls, as well as smaller items, such as jewelry dishes and desktop toys, based on her larger installations ($40 to $150).
Separately, through Studio Goyuum, Ko creates custom hand and foot casts for families welcoming a newborn. These sculptural keepsakes begin at $300.
Favorite or must-have tools:
- Her hands. “When I draw the human figure, I often use my fingers rather than brushes or markers, working directly with textured materials,” said Ko.
- In clay work: simple objects from a craft store.
- In metal work: tungsten burnishers to strengthen delicate wire structures.
“I usually bring a few of them back whenever I visit Seoul,” said Ko. “The craftsman who makes them is now quite elderly, so I plan to collect a few more on my next trip.”
Inspirations:
- Her grandfather and his collection of traditional Korean ceramics.
- Materials with their own histories. In a recent butterfly series, Ko used pieces of silk that had remained in her mother-in-law’s closet for more than fifty years.
- Hands themselves. When her children were very young, Ko wanted to cast their hands and feet. At that time there were no services in her area offering that kind of work, so she began experimenting with casting using the basic knowledge she had learned in school.
Over time, whenever friends or neighbors welcomed newborns, they began asking her to create casts for them. What started as small personal requests gradually grew into the work that later became Studio Goyuum.
Around that time, as Ko became more active in the Charlotte art scene, she saw how art brought people together. That led to The Hands Project, a collaborative sculpture initiative that casts the hands of artists and community members, bringing many individual stories together into one collective work.
Special commission: “A Way Coming Back,” a sculptural installation created for the chapel at Atrium Health Lake Norman Hospital in Cornelius, NC.
During the process of creating the work, Ko unexpectedly discovered breast cancer while visiting Korea and had to undergo surgery and remain there for several months.
The project was delayed, and she even offered to recommend another artist so the client’s schedule would not be affected.
Instead, the team chose to wait, allowing Ko to complete the work herself the following June.
“Because the series itself explores ideas of flow, coexistence, healing, second chances and diversity,” said Ko. “The experience made the commission especially meaningful to me.”
Recent honors:
- Best Sculptor. Readers’ Pick for Best in the Nest Awards, Queen City Nerve, Charlotte, NC. 2024.
- ArtPop Street Gallery Artist. Charlotte, NC. 2023.
- Participating artist, ArtFields, Lake City, SC. 2022 and 2024.
Ongoing art project: Continuing a series of butterfly works created from reclaimed silk fabrics that explore themes of memory, transformation and renewal.
What’s new: Several exhibitions and projects, including:
- “Moving Silence: Lee Ko Metal Work,” solo exhibition at the
Bill and Patty Gorelick Gallery, Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), Charlotte, NC. Through June 7. - “Eggcellent SculpTOON: 100 Days of Clay Egg Sculptures”
at the South Piedmont Art Gallery at South Piedmont Community College, Monroe, NC. Through May 15. - “The Hands Project” exhibition series:
- LoSo Studio, Charlotte. September-October 2026.
- Richland Main Library, Columbia, SC. November 2026.
- OrthoCarolina-Orthopedic Hand Center, Charlotte. December 2026.
Where to buy: workbylee.com
Connect:
- Instagram: @workbylee, @the.hands.project and @handsonwell
- YouTube: @workbylee
