We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yuh Okano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yuh below.
Yuh, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I grew up in Japan with a very different culture and education than in the United States. Therefore, I have learned to understand many things. At the same time, I have chosen the best options while considering my own existence and significance. In doing so, I have found values for myself and others. There are times when I am conflicted and confused about this. But I feel that I can continue to grow through my experiences, and I stay positive every day.
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 goal is to embrace the intangible, to know the transient, to be true to my personal beliefs, and to be artistically consumed by nature.
My fabric work is inspired by the artist’s deep admiration for the natural world. I capture that moment with delicate patterns, colors, shapes, and textures.
After teaching at a textile school in Tokyo for seven years, I joined a textile group in one of Japan’s leading textile production areas.
Using the tie-dye technique, I creates gauzy, flowing fabrics with depth of color and rich textures reminiscent of the undulating sea, and since 1998, this scarf, one of the artist’s signature styles, has been selected for the design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. https:// www.moma.org/artists/23267
Currently, my work is carries in museums and galleries in the U.S. and Japan, as well as at various craft shows.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
As you can see Japan is an oriental country with a long history of culture and art. When I was 19 years old, I traveled to Europe, a western countries. The culture and language were completely different, and the people had different values. Religions were also different. I decided to go to an art college in the US to learn more of western culture. There are three big things: 1/ originality of your own. 2/ experience. Seeing, touching, and feeling continuously leads to technique. 3. Meeting many people. Knowledge is learned from others.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I have never thought of myself as special. I think I am inept at most things. So I have to do one thing at a time. I think people who are good with their hands tend to do everything so quickly that once they get it done, they lose their passion and move on to the next thing. That is not the case with me. Maybe it’s because everything I do is average so that my passion lasts and doesn’t reflect otherwise. From there, I have never thought about strengths or weaknesses. Maybe being passionate about something changes and sustains my awareness of its strengths and weaknesses. I really like making textiles. I will not spare myself to do what I love. I think it is a part of every way of life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.textilesyuh.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yuhokano_shibori/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yuhscarves
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqLw9u3woYk
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhbI_qUCGuo
Image Credits
Photographed by Benton Collins
