SAMM HAWLEY - BIOGRAPHY Samm Hawley Omori was born into the first Japanese family in Santa Barbara, CA in 1934. She was evacuated to a Japanese internment camp at Gila Bend, Arizona for 4 years and was relocated to Cleveland, Ohio where her father worked as a welder at a defense plant.  The family then returned to Santa Barbara.
Samm's  creativity emerged at an early age as did her lifelong drive towards experimentation with new media. This journey has led her to work in ceramics, jewelry, textiles, sculpture, wearable art, hot glass and stained glass as well as painting. She began with painting and ceramics, and was exhibiting her work at the university art gallery before graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1958.
After graduation, she opened the first art gallery in Santa Barbara, one of three, before traveling extensively in Mexico, Central America, Europe and Asia. She studied pottery and lived in Japan for several years, then returned to Santa Barbara and opened a Japanese restaurant in Montecito where she made all the dishes used in the restaurant.  She then moved to Portugal for two years and eventually London, where she showed her paintings at the Royal Academy of  Art, The Holland Park and Leichester galleries.
Upon returning to the States, she attended the Master of Arts program at San Jose State and turned to glass. One of the pioneers of the emerging American West Coast hot glass movement, she and her (then) husband, Joe Hawley opened the first private hot glass facility and gallery in California.  Samm  built the glassblowing  facility at the Sausalito Arts Center in California  where she taught for three years until the Art Center closed.  She also taught at Haystack in Deer Isle, Maine.
She and a group of friends formed a partnership in the 70's and renovated St. Orres - a landmark hotel and restaurant in Gualala, CA -  where each member used their expertise in building, landscape architecture, cooking, stained glass, and interior decoration.  Her stained glass, textiles and wearable art can be found in homes and establishments throughout California.
Since returning to painting in the late 80's, as she moved from California to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Maine and Washington DC before returning to San Francisco in 2000.  Her paintings took on new perspectives reflecting her lifelong interest in art, spirituality, food, and the natural as well as socio-political environment.
Samm passed away on October 5th, 2008 in the loving arms of her daughter Jorin and her husband Tim. Her spirit lives on in her work, and in all who knew and loved this extraordinary person.