Meet Shizuka Kusayanagi

 

We were lucky to catch up with Shizuka Kusayanagi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shizuka, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I think we are all born here with a purpose that may look like various things at various points in our lives, and my definition of “purpose” is being your most authentic self within a network of people who are all different. It’s the meandering path of answering that big old question, “Who am I, and what am I here for?” and there is no one answer, but the answer is in the journey of looking for that answer.

My purpose, or an awareness of what my purpose may look like, came after a big, shocking event in my life, which you could call a midlife crisis. It took me on a long, deep and painful but revelatory experience of feeling all the emotions, moving through them, and following my inner compass to pursue what I take joy in, am good at, and serve the community or anyone that I come across through “being me.”

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a graphic designer and mom turned fine artist and art educator, and various other things 🙂 I have created Art for All Ages workshops where I guide people of all ages and art experiences to play, develop a voice, and foster healthy relationships with themselves and others.

I discovered the healing qualities of painting after a year-long deep dive into inner work in 2021 and ongoing. In my most recent work of oil paintings, I encapsulate visions I had experienced during meditations or states of mind-body connection. Art is medicine for me, and I intend to spread the medicine of art, the visual language that unites us all as humans.

I have exhibited in shows in NY, LA, and Dublin, and am in the process of exhibiting in Paris and in Japan. It is really rewarding to have people resonate with your work when you present it in places like galleries, and pop up at community events and fairs to interact with those who can give you direct feedback on your own creations. I also find joy in seeing people light up looking at or making art: in schools, homes, shops, or on the streets, etc… and am interested in how people bring art practices into their daily lives because the act of taking the time to create something with your hands promotes self-awareness, resilience, confidence, and a sense of peace within a storm.

I am taking a course to learn the social-emotional benefits of the arts in numerous disciplines and how to engage people of various backgrounds to reap their benefits, and I intend to use that experience in creating future Art for All Ages experiences! Currently, I offer workshops such as Japanese and Turkish marbling, Paint & Sculpt Paper Koinobori, Japanese Torn-Paper Collage Chigirie, Origami, and Elementary School Art for Adults, where adults get to experience a smorgusboard of art making that was a big hit when I taught in primary schools: drawing with charcoal, painting in watercolor, paper weaving, plaster sculpting… I strongly believe adults can benefit from playing like they used to as kids, without judgement, without having to “be a good painter” or make things “so they can sell them.”  And as a parent myself, I’d love to offer creative workshops that caretakers can share with their children to engage in and bond!

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?

– Meditate (really take the time to sit and observe yourself, without numbing your “ugly” feelings, and move through them using whatever tools that work for YOU)
– Follow your intuition (and hone on how to decipher intuition versus fear)
– Don’t forget to play, have fun, and be in the moment (which creates the space reqiored to face and overcome difficulties with more grace)

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am not an art therapist by formal training, but I am a working artist with a passion for using art as medicine. I’d love to collaborate with doctors, therapists, teachers, organizations, institutions, and communities where I could bring my talent and serve a broad audience.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Alice Wibisono (portrait photos)

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