Nakata, Hiroe: - Hiroe Nakata grew up in Japan, encouraged in her drawing by her grandfather, a painter. One of her favorite things to do was to sit and play in the big rocking chair in his studio. She also loved music and at a very early age began composing songs for her own amusement. As she paints she often recalls the songs she wrote as a child and is reminded of her hands moving on the keyboard as her brush moves across the paper. When she was sixteen, Hiroe moved to the United States. She is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design and a resident of New York City.