Meet Aya Uekawa

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Aya Uekawa again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Aya, we are so thrilled to be connecting again and can’t wait to hear about all the amazing things you have been up to. Before we jump into all of that, some of our readers might have missed our prior interview, so can you take a moment to reintroduce yourself?
In the last interview, I wrote about my journey from a young student in Japan to having become a professional artist in the U.S. I am lucky enough to be working as an artist for two decades, and my works have been exhibited in NYC, Miami, Berlin, and many other places.
As a child in 90s, when internet has just started and Google was not able to give you answers to ‘how to be an artist,’ it was not easy to seek for a help to cultivate a passage to one’s dream. One of my strengths is perseverance. (I only have it for what I really love.) From a little information available from bookstores and federal and institutional online resources (those are the only reliable online resources back then), and managed to collect enough information I need to transfer my Japanese college credits to the U.S. ones to enroll and pursue the Bachelor of Fine Arts. I was obsessively working and devoting everything to produce art. I sacrificed a lot of social interactions, exploring New York City other than art, and my mental and physical health. I felt I did not have time for those things back then. This is a good example that my strength in perseverance influenced negatively to my life. If I could do it again, I would pay attention to these aspects more. While I was desperate and tense, I never received a chance to exhibit my work professionally. It was only when I surrendered and accepted where I was at and was open to others. A person’s psychological state does show up on the surface. It can appear on her attitude, behavior, linguistic and facial expressions.
The surrendering also opened up my creativity. As my culture’s social pressure is overwhelming, we were taught not to be outstanding in any way. That suppressed how to express my own identity. I struggled the most to understand a concept behind art. In addition to this barrier, as I am an naturally analytical person, I could figure out trends of art in New York and that was destructive to my own creativity. As a desperate student artist, I was experimenting many styles and my work was inconsistent. I was searching for superficial visual expressions. After going through self-acceptance, I started drawing out from my deep emotions that was buried under the surface. It came out as female figures combined with two dimensional background. One person who came to open studio at school told me that she had never seen something like my work. It was a very encouraging compliment, and an assurance that I was creating my own unique art. Those small paintings at the open studio brought me into the professional world. The first step of what sets me apart from other artists was giving myself a space in the most honest state. It gave me a chance to recognize two different cultures and societies I am influenced by, and how to express my deep psychological state. What I developed then is still the strongest feature of my visual language.

Alright, so our main goal today is to give our audience an update on what you have been up to since our last conversation. We’d love to hear how things are going and what you are most looking forward to or excited about these days.
It has been such a journey. There were lots of ups and downs, and this type of career which requires popularity to achieve success, often has long down turns. Career shifts depending on what the trend is in the art world, which is something beyond one’s control. Any artists have to endure some hibernation time and keep producing and creating refined portfolios to show whenever a chance comes. I have been through these hibernations, and it is very difficult, and can be destructive to creativity. But I am lucky enough to have people support me. One day, I received a message unexpectedly from a collector who purchased my work years ago. From the message, I sensed his concerns of my career and encouraged me to keep going. It was a very touching moment and pushed me to work harder, and think harder.
I also have been taking care of my health last several years. While there is nothing serious, it still takes my energy and effect my everyday life. I leaned a few minor health issues can drain energy and require a life style change. As I am going through middle age, I feel physical and ideational changes, which are also influencing my creativity as well. I have started searching for a new way to express other than female figures. I have painted geometric forms overlap over the figures, still life, large scale works, small scale works, and most recently, I am working on sculpture projects. It has been almost two decades since I made a sculpture, and I am very fascinated with it.
Thinking back, I believe the reason why I have been struggling for a long time is that I could not go beyond my comfort zone. I was subconsciously afraid of failures. So I was sticking to my old style without knowing that was leading to further decline of creativity. Once again, I had to give some time to see and accept myself, just like right before I started my career. I started with drawing abstract, then landscape, and still life. Once I went beyond my comfort zone, I could see my direction better. I am still anxious, struggling to figure out what I will make next, however, it comes with more excitement.
After going through this moment of breaking a shell, I am open to come out of my comfort zone. I am looking into teaching art currently. I have been interested in teaching art since I was young, but I did not have enough courage and mental capacity to do so. As a very shy, introverted girl, my biggest fear is public speaking. It was a way beyond my capability. Now, I am looking for an opportunity to serve young artists. I earned enough technical and professional knowledge to hand down to younger generation. It is a positive outcome of aging. When I was young, my brain was occupied with how to build my career, thus couldn’t do anything else. I’d like to help young artists with the knowledge I wish I had back then, so that they do not have to learn hard ways. After all, as an artist, cultural prosperity is my ultimate goal. Acceptance of individual expressions and their diversity is a key to expand culture. I’d love to contribute to it.

Alright, so let’s do something a bit more fast-paced and lighthearted. We call this our lightning round and we’ll ask you a few quick questions.

Favorite Movie: Big Fish

Favorite Book: You Are A Badass

Favorite TV Show: Queer Eyes

Favorite Band or Artist: Many!

Sweet or Savory: Both. I love chocolate and beet chips.

Mountains or Beach: Mountain. I like to be in shades in summer.

Favorite Sport (to watch): Figure skating

Favorite Sport (to play): I am not a team player, so maybe hiking if it counts as sport.

Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): I did swimming and enjoyed it then.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: Graphic novelist

French Fries or Onion Rings: I like both.

Chuck Rhodes or Bobby Axelrod: Sorry, neither.

Favorite Cartoon growing up: Japanese manga books.

Favorite Childhood movie: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. It is a shockingly memorable film. I still love Hayao Miyazaki films.

Favorite Breakfast Food: Something I don’t eat everyday at home. Avocado toast, indulging steak and eggs, or a basket of really good pastries.

Life is often about tough choices – can you talk to us about your thought process, strategy or philosophy when it comes to making difficult choices or tradeoffs.
I trust my intuition the most. It sounds silly, but I make better art if I work intuitively. It is something we develop over time based on our actual experiences and practices, and it comes out as intuitive, quick decisions. For something I really want to take time to decide, I write down all the pros and cons, ifs and if-nots, and use logical methods to come to conclusions. Thinking of the moment when I made bad decisions, I was not considering my situation and where I was at well enough to see a large picture. If I were in the same situation today, I would ask somebody whom I can trust to give me honest opinions, and I would give myself a calm space and time. I would take a trip for a few days not to think about it for a while, or a meditation time, so I will be able to have fresh mind to consider the choices. I was listening to a Podcast in which Dr. Cal Newport was a guest. In that episode, he talked about Marie Curie, a two-time Nobel prize winner, took a lengthy vacation right before her presentation of the research. She needed to take time to focus on the last part of her study. She took time for herself to work at her own pace. It is probably not possible today to take a few months vacation, but even a few days will refresh our mind, as long as we are not thinking about the decisions we have to make. What Dr. Cal Newport points out was jaw dropping, and I believe it will be helpful for me as well.

Website: https://Ayauekawa.com

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