We were lucky to catch up with Mayuko Ono Gray recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mayuko, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I think the best thing ever happened to me is that I almost died. After experiencing that, you come back to normal life with very different view of life. The biggest change for me was that I started to really appreciate the opportunity to be still here in this physical body, allowing me to make more art each day. I consider ‘time’ to be the most important asset we all have equally, and the one that you cannot purchase no matter how rich you are.
As artist with a day job for paying bills, it is always a struggle to fine time and energy to dedicate to the art. I started to view the 24 hours in a day as- 8 hours to sleep, 8 hours to work for paycheck, and 8 hours to dedicate to art. One change that drastically increased my productivity was that I started going to bed super early. I would get off work at 5 pm, come home, take bath/shower and immediately go to bed, by say 7 pm. I would then wake up at 4 am, and go to my studio to make art. Fortunately I no longer work a day job, I still wake up at 4 am and dedicate the early morning to the studio time. This schedule also helped me to cut out the amount of alcohol intake. Waking up early does not always come easily, and some days I really just want to stay in bed. Then I ask myself, “do I want the pain of discipline, or pain of regret?” That usually wakes me up, get excited for the another day I have my body and therefore able to make art.
Another important thing for me is to give myself deadlines. I try to make one art (my work is fairly large) a month, though I am really behind the schedule in 2023. By giving myself deadlines, I keep myself accountable on where I am at each stage of art making, and help budget my time to utilize my time wisely. It also helps me to keep challenging myself to beat my own given deadlines. However, I am very careful not to push the art making just to meet the deadline- I do not feel right or happy when I start hurrying up sacrificing the quality of work I make. I need to stay focused to create the best work I can, go into more details, meticulously render- yet at the same time I need to know when to say the work is complete and time to move on to next one.
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?
Here is my artist statement-
Reflecting a life which is both culturally Japanese and American, my graphite drawings hybridize influences from traditional Japanese calligraphy combined with Western drawing practices and aesthetics.
Growing up in Japan, every Saturday afternoon was spent with my Sensei, a calligraphy master who would assign words for each of us to practice. We would spend hours producing copies of the Sensei’s sample. The goal was to imitate the sample, paying attention to the line quality, the varying speed, the pressure and angle of the brush movement. The handling of the brush had to become rhythmic and graceful.
At high school age, in preparation to entrance exam to art university in Japan, I had to take private lessons to learn drawing with graphite and charcoal practicing techniques such as chiaroscuro and sfumato. Saturday afternoons were replaced by a Western style art studio with pedestals, still lifes, and white marble copies of Roman busts, instead of tatami mat calligraphy studio sitting on the floor. The fluid ink was replaced with malleable graphite and ephemeral charcoal. The wet immediacy of calligraphic line was replaced with illusionistic volumes meticulously rendered. Instead of going through dozens of rice papers in a session, one sheet of high-quality cotton paper was given to work on.
Traditional Japanese art-forms have often integrated word and image, and my interest and practice also follow the path in my unique way. In my works I mostly use images of persons, animals, and still-lifes captured in my daily experiences. I assign a matching Japanese proverb to go with the image, which is spelled out with hiragana and kanji characters intertwined to create a single line. The calligraphic line begins at the top right and end toward the bottom left of the page, following traditional Japanese writing. The single line going through a pictorial plane is a metaphor of a life; the continuation of our life which begins with the birth and entrance to physical body, one exit as death and loss of physical body, and all the complicated path we take in between. Proverbs are short and poetic, yet powerful and true, resonating to us today confirming the never changing characteristics of human emotions and behavior, providing timeless lessons and teachings.
More recent works often incorporate the image of bubbles. Bubbles represent energy. In “pulsating still life” series, these are energy emitted by atoms which compose matter and form. Bubbles also represent our soul or spirit, which is invisible, yet we encompass along with our physical form. I create at least one self-portrait a year to record the sign and progress of my physical decay. As I age and my body continue to deteriorate, more I am fascinated by or want to believe in the existence of the intangible- soul or spirit.
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?
Growing up, I was always referred to as “strange” or “weird ” kid, and I have a feeling I am still viewed that way. I never really fit in to social norm, never followed rules or customs without asking why, and never compromised my view on anything just because of what others were saying/doing. I think it was especially difficult growing up this way in Japan, where you are expected to be passive, keep your head down, and fit into the society simply following the rules or customs as told. Teachers usually hated me because I would not stop asking why these rules and norms exist, I was not be willing to compromise and go with the rest of the crowd. I think this is a quality I have that aided me to be where I am now- that I followed my own voice and own path- as unique and difficult it might have been on the way, I trust myself to guide me to live in the most authentic way. I think it can be considered as a quality which impacted me in my journey.
For skills, I will have to say that working as a gallery director for 11 years for a college art gallery was the most impactful. I managed every aspect of gallery operation, from curating, installation, managing budgets, insurance, marketing, etc. This experience really helped me to see all the aspects of what is involved in art exhibitions, and most importantly how to communicate. I think there is a stereo type of artist as someone who is not being able to meet deadlines or manage paperworks, not responding to email in timely manner- and somehow these must be excused because they are ‘artists’, but it is just plain childish and unprofessional. Communicating and working professionally with curators are so important, and I am so grateful for the 11 years I worked as gallery director and developed my business skills.
For knowledge, I am continuously touched by many audio books and podcasts I listen to while I make art. Keeping open minded and staying curious for more knowledge has helped me grow as artist and as a person. I am especially curious about spirituality, psychology, self help and self development. I guess I could say that my struggle with depression aided me that I started to seek knowledge in the path.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
One book that had a big impact on me was “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy. This book installed me the importance of keep going at it and building momentum, and not letting the momentum die. I found it true with my art making, it really is one small pencil stroke at a time, and it may seem small and it is, but I just keep going at it. I complete one work, then move on to another work, one by one, keep on making art. The concept in this book also helps me avoid getting into dreadful artist’s block, which I had experienced many times. I also love teaching of Eckhart Tolle. At artist talk I sometimes quote his teaching that goes, “I have lived with several Zen masters… all of them cats”.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mayukoonogray.com
- Instagram: @mayko_ono_gray
