We recently connected with Natsumi Goldfish and have shared our conversation below.
Natsumi, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I constantly get inspired by things around me. Rather than something I don’t get to experience in person, I try to keep close attention to my surroundings as sources of my inspirations: from conversations with people to readings, animals and plants I’ve lived with. Things such as events that happened to me; family and friends and observing the cities I live in. These are all connected to bigger matters we care and talk about.
We might be having problems finding solutions to world shaping issues as well. As the old Japanese saying goes, it is the darkest under the lamp post. I have been learning about the world from the closest places to me. My artwork might look subtle and quiet or not catchy compared to the other contemporary artists’ works but to me it is intimate, personal and lively. This is the aesthetic I’m seeking in my work.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Natsumi Goldfish and I’m a Japanese visual artist. I’m known for the window paintings which look inside the spaces of unique windows. I was born and raised in Japan and moved to the US in late 2011. Around 2012, I started my first window painting which depicted a mysterious view into an interior space. This specific piece had a large china/porcelain cat, and sunflowers in homage to a painting I saw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, inside the french window frame. Since then, I have been developing my window paintings as a series titled “Window Mereology” and they are all paintings of various windows looking inside different spaces. It is my dream to see a room full of my windows and share the paintings with many viewers.
My work can be divided into several subjects but they are related to my interest and the question: what makes a human being a human? What makes us individuals and a community, unique and different from other creatures? I enjoy finding and observing the subtle nature of our being. We might be neglecting those thoughts about these issues in our daily lives.
My art is made of my imagination, observations, and questions about society and human nature. Other than windows, I have been painting fish tanks, bathing, self portraits, dreams and imaginations, hand gestures, animals and other images as they catch my heart.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
This question is simple but not easy. We have to keep being interested and focused. Always be a good critic of yourself and observe your work. You must also have a good community of various people who inspire, question and share their thoughts and reactions to you and to your work – and lastly, keep painting.
I can talk about art and artists but basically it is the same for anything we decide we want to be. To remain a good critic of yourself, constantly learning and seeing new things in the outside world is important to this process. Things like reading, going to see art in museums and galleries, and discussing art and other subjects with people. It’s all in a circle going around and the core energy is – you keep making art.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
I have been on a mission to find my own way to visually connect the symbols I utilize in my work with ideas, questions and suggestions I have in my head. Making it alive as metaphors in a painting is another challenge. This is a fun journey for me and I will continue finding ways for my work to flourish.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.natsumigoldfish.com
- Instagram: @NatsumiGoldfish
Image Credits
Natsumi K. Goldfish
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