《Part 1 Becoming my own person》
As their only daughter, my parents raised me with plenty of love.
My mother was a very stylish person and had a lot of good tastes. She chose my clothes when I was younger. I saw myself wearing pretty outfits in my old pictures. My mother has been a big influence to me. My parents also let me take different lessons. Piano, which relates to my current job, calligraphy, which taught me about balance, abacus calculation, which taught me about concentration, English, which taught me about communication, and speed skating, which taught me about perseverance. I was able to learn many different things. I can never thank my parents enough.
In High School, I started a band with my friends. I was assigned to the drums, which I’d never played before, but by learning from square one, I learned the joys of creating music with friends.
In college, I left my parent’s house and started new relationships. My friends, my classmates, and the teacher who taught me more about music. Everyday was productive, and I was able to talk about anything to my friend.
It was also a time when I began to gradually understand my preferences. The clothes that look good on me, and the music I like. I even bought a CD, just by looking at the cover. There were many chances to discover who I was. By talking to my friend, I felt my emotions stir up. Everyday life as a college student was refreshing and I finished my four years in the blink of an eye. It was the first time I lived away from my parents, so everyday seemed like a new adventure.
《Part 2 School》
I started working and met a lot of students. I saw myself through my students. I’ve learned a lot through my times with them, and the things I said and established, led me to understand more about myself. I’ve met a lot of colleagues, students, and friends. To this day, I still meet up with my friends and talk about our future. I enjoy these moments, where I can imagine the future. I want to keep close to those who come talk to me and generally care about me.
The turning point of my life was when I encountered fine arts. I learned about this as a student, but I didn’t think I’d be involved with it from the opposite standpoint. By involving myself more with fine arts, I labeled music as “movement” and fine arts as “silence”.
I felt myself being complete when I mixed “movement” and “silence”. I felt the power overflow and was able to feel “alive” as I combined 2 concepts into 1.
I believe that humans have always placed an importance on keeping balance in life. Incorporating fine arts made balancing easier. Involving myself in fine arts was the most important moment of my life.
《Part 3 My encounter with masking tape》
And finally, my discovery of masking tape. I first saw it at a variety shop, and thought it was cute. I bought it, which then led me to start collecting it. I’ve always had a love for colors, so I was attracted to the colorful patterns on masking tapes. As I started collecting more and more, I began getting excited because it felt like collecting art supplies. Currently, I have about 1000 of them. They are my treasures.
I started doing masking tape art because I wanted to create a piece to remind me of the memories of an important person. I decided to stick on masking tape and create an artwork. When an important memory became a piece, I felt elated and satisfied. After that, I created masking tape art everyday like it was a daily task, and I learned how to balance my body and mind. Artworks decorated with masking tape are given new life. It was nice seeing the colors emerge, and I felt myself being tainted with colors too.
When I create artworks, my world opens up, and I’ve even met people I never thought I’d meet until now. I also have thankful moments, when I get complimented for my work and get told that they want to purchase it. Having someone else look at my pieces was important to me. The pieces I once created for myself, was now something I created by imaging someone. I felt and understood human connection.
I was also luckily able to meet Kōichi Nishimura, an artist I respect. I’ve always wanted to meet him, and I was able to do it through masking tape. I was very surprised, but also very happy. Buying that 1 masking tape, led me to the happiness I feel all around me today. You never know what happens in life!
I will continue creating art, and would like to see someone else through myself.