Hello from Japan

Hello friends!

I don’t even know where to begin, so how about this: I’M IN JAPAN! Besides some sketchbook pages, I’ve selected a few photos that capture what Japan feels and looks like to me, as well as one of my currect workspace, and a snapshot of a random, magical moment in which I'm holding some pigeons in Kamakura. I still can't fathom how this happened.

It’s been an adventure as it's the first time I’m actually here all by myself, navigating the language barrier, the train system, and setting my own itinerary. (I get lost constantly…) But I’m loving the freedom to do things at my own pace. Tokyo has been very chilly since I arrived here, and the cherry blossoms are still reluctant to come out, but that didn’t deter me from travelling up and down the city, snapping photos of anything and everything. There’s so much inspiration all around me! I also have lots of day trips planned to get out of the city and explore nature, but I’ll have to wait a little bit until it gets warmer before I go. For example, there's an avalanche warning in Nikko at the moment. Not ideal.

The first few days, I stayed in a small business hotel room that was really only meant for sleeping. There was barely any daylight and when I opened the curtains, I had a grey concrete wall in front of my face. It’s not a place where you’d want to spend your time, so I saw it as an opportunity to go out and be as active as possible, and take sketch breaks in coffee shops when I got tired of walking around. At first, I filled one sketchbook page each day to capture the things I had done–like a visual diary entry. I think these pages will be a nice reminder a few years down the line, when I look back on this trip.

I can't possibly tell you everything I’ve experienced, because it's so much, but what I cherish the most are small encounters and human interactions in my everyday life here: the people who helped me out and cheered me on at the local bouldering gym, the kind man from Osaka I met at the vending machine, and who gifted me green tea, the lonely old man and his dog Rose at the beach in Kamakura, and the owner of the vegan restaurant who was so cheery and incredibly fluent in English. And of course, spending time with my friends from home who also happen to be in Tokyo is a privilege (and feels a bit surreal).

So now, my creative residency has officially started, and I’m working on a creative project for my upcoming solo exhibit. What exactly it's going to be, I don't know yet, but it will definitely involve traditional paintings. The opening reception is on 6 April, 6-9 PM. If you're in Tokyo, please come by! More details soon.

I’m so thankful that I get to stay at Almost Perfect. Luis and Yuka are just the kindest people you’ll meet, and I can't wait for the second resident, Deb Lee, to arrive so that we can be creative together!