Florence Roca, 45, is a French mother of three married to a fellow countryman who has lived on and off in Japan for 10 years. Aside from family, she has a passion for painting porcelain and making jewelry.
Her sensibilities, creativity and techniques were fostered and enriched by people she has met in Japan, she says.
Roca, who also goes by her artist name of Fleur d'Huytesa, came to Japan in 2000 when her husband was posted in the country as an executive of a major car manufacturer. At the time, she quit her job in France as a finance manager for a global pharmaceutical company, as the family had three children, aged 1, 3 and 6 — and also because she wanted to explore her artist possibilities here.