Yuka Yamaguchi

Yuka Yamaguchi is a lovely Japanese illustrator living in Canada who I met last night at PauseTalk where her work is on display until about mid-January.

Although her self-portraits may shock some, I view them as revealing Yamaguchi's great openness and sense of humor. Perhaps she is just more candid than other artists: sharing not only her outside appearance, but her insides too.

She speaks very candidly about her work and creative process, and it was especially interesting when she told us how she stopped drawing heads and faces on her body once she had a baby. She says she doesn't know the reason why, but I wonder if it's a reflection of the lost sense of one's own identity experienced when parenthood refocuses one's life and raising one's offspring causes your own life to take a back seat.

Yamaguchi-san also makes toys, such as C-Section Bunny. Her shop and gallery are located here, but alas, her shop is closed for the holidays until she returns to Canada from Japan (so check back in a couple weeks!)