Yamanaka Kazuko started her art career as a textile artist. After marrying Mr. Yamanaka, a master sixth-generation metal smith in Kyoto, she became interested in metal work. At first she was simply an assistant, but later she began to create her own pieces in her free time. She decided to apply the crochet techniques that she had used to create her textile art works in her new art form, the metal works.

Yamanaka composed pieces by crocheting together thin stainless steel, brass, and copper wires. The combination of these three wires produces elegant gradations. The application of this innovative technique has transformed the rigid medium of metal. Unlike the usual heavy and hard presentation, her pieces appear light, fragile, and delicate. Yamanaka�fs works vary in scale, from jewelry that could fit in the palm of a hand to large sculptures that fill up an entire room. The vast spectrum of sizes is a product of her skilled handling of the wire.