A Year of Becoming

Today, I updated my website.

This update feels like the culmination of the past year —
and in many ways, a reflection of my life as an artist.

About a year ago, I moved into my current studio.

This past year has been a constant process of trial and error.

I am an artist —
but for a long time, I wasn’t sure what kind of artist I was.

I could make many things.
But I didn’t have something I could clearly present.

And if the work doesn’t exist, it cannot be sold.

Creating work requires time, space, and money.
At first, I tried to balance other jobs while building my practice.
But I couldn’t fully concentrate.
Time passed. Energy scattered.

Eventually, I made a decision.

I chose to invest in myself.
I left my job and committed to creating.

It was not an easy choice.
Time moves quickly.
Savings slowly decrease.

Sometimes I wished someone would simply tell me,
“This is how you become an artist.”

But no one does.
Not even art school teaches you that.

Still, there was one thing I knew for certain:

There was something inside me —
quiet, unfinished, waiting to be seen.

So I worked.

I kneaded clay.
I painted.
I experimented with materials.
I made pieces that failed.
I made pieces that surprised me.

And slowly, something began to take shape.

Not just individual works —
but series.

Bodies of work that speak to each other.
Forms that feel connected.
A direction that feels honest.

This website has lived in my mind for nearly ten years.

Today, it begins to exist in the world
in a way that finally feels aligned.

It is not finished.
Neither am I.

But it is real.

And from here, it will grow.

With the work.
With time.
With courage.

Thank you for being here.

— Megumi Yoshida