Sachi Yamabe- Featured Artist for June 2011
Requiem of Roses, 22 x 28 in., acrylic on canvas, 2010
Which artistic media do you prefer to work in and why?
Paint. I like its plasticity, colour and richness for making pictures, though I think I am more comfortable picking up a pencil or pen.
With which past or contemporary artists or artworks do you, as an artist, feel a connection? What is it that draws you to them?
Philip Guston, Leslie Dill, Mark Stebbins, Frida Kahlo, Sue Webster and Tim Noble, Shary Boyle, Jason de Caires Taylor, Amy Bennett, Marsden Hartley. Their work speaks to my heart. They have a strong heard/head/hand connection and are gorgeous to look at.
What process or technique in art-making interests you?
Traditional arts and crafts from all over the world, encaustic, photography.
What technical challenges do you face in the process of making art?
It has been difficult lately blocking out my surroundings to focus in the studio, which is in my home. My MP3 player is helpful in this regard . I also battle with acrylics, trying to get the same richness with them as I can get with oils, which I am more hesitant to use due to their toxicity and fumes.
What in your artistic training do you value most at this time?
The fine artist teachers/mentors/friends I have had. Gerald Ferguso, during my time and after, at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, was a support and inspiration. He is sadly missed by many. He died last year and this has impacted my work.
How much of a role do accident and control play in your work?
Big - I always play between the two, trying to find a balance.
What are some of your artistic challenges at present?
Getting the work beyond the studio walls is difficult. I prefer doing the work to doing the business involved in arranging exhibitions, especially because I rarely think that I or the work is ready. Massive cutbacks to funding of our artist-run-spaces has not helped, such that there is less opportunity for artists to show their work in Canada, myself included, and always more artists wanting to do so.
What are some of your artistic accomplishments at present?
Participation in a few group exhibitions at the Japanese-Canadian National Museum ( Nikkei Place ) in Burnaby.
1) My creative urges tend to wax and wane, so trust that it will always return.
2) There is an element of the task-oriented in my work. It’s often best to stop thinking and just start working, thinkining there is no such things as mistakes, errors or flaws, because it all can be worked over again with another layer; it’s just a picture, not so precious.
3) I am happiest when I am in the middle of a project.
When you need inspiration, how to do you get it?
I wait. It’s good to be in nature, especially the ocean, whenever possible, floating weightless.
When you need to learn more as an artist, how do you do it?
At this time I like to look at other people’s work up close and personal. If that is not possible, then via the Internet. I like to send friends Internet links to artists I like.
What is exciting on your artistic horizon?
I am looking forward to continue playing with the subject matter of rose, thread, sticks and water using paint on canvas and board.
What is it about this artwork "Requiem of Roses" that led you to choose it for this feature? What specific challenges did you face in making this artwork?
I see my challenge as trying to bring together the particular way I have been working on paper with the way I paint. Sticks, flowers and water are recurring imagery in my work over the years and I find I am always trying to bring together my different ways of working, to convey more fully what I think, feel and know.