Guest Shot - Fumiha Tanaka

Guard

It’s alright
Emergency of cactus disease
It’s alright
I will protect you with all my life

So, I'm a dunderhead. Don't believe me? Here's the proof: This past Saturday, Cocotte Cafe over in Iidabashi opened up with a small sample of my work for the month of August. I even managed to knock out a couple new pieces, all of which were a little experimental for me. Seeing as I only got 1 and 1/2 hours of sleep the night before, it shouldn't be a surprise that nothing got scanned in. And silly me, the one thing I forgot to bring with me (there's always ONE thing) was a camera. So, I have no new work to show you good folks for a little bit. Dunderheaded, right?

On the other hand, this gives me a great opportunity to introduce my friend Fumiha Tanaka. Fumiha was an undergrad at SCAD at the same time I was flailing through the MFA program there. We had a couple classes together (I particularly remember our children's book lectures), and I was always impressed with her work. At the time, she was doing this very funky mixed-media thing where she was painting with tissue paper.

Even though we've moved in opposite directions, me to her Japan and her to my NY/NJ area (Brooklyn, actually), we've managed to keep in touch. It's been a thrill watching her work evolve and grow over the past couple years. She now dabbles masterfully in woodcuts, painting, ceramics, silkscreens, and who knows what else. All of these are done beautifully with a sense of whimsy and charm and intelligence. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Fumiha recently put on a show, along with Aya Kakeda (who is no slouch either) at Metropolis Gallery in Pennsylvania. Check out their show here.