Melissa Dickenson's "Exploration"

Here in Japan, a foreign gal’s quest for friends and fun people to share common interests with never ceases. I’m not alone here. Ever since I joined a knitting club for English speakers, I’ve met plenty of others like me – women looking for some chick companionship while they’re here. It’s easy for us to get excited over a ball of yarn, knitting needles, and some English conversation between ourselves and other females with whom we share a mere three to five year age difference. Those sessions of knitting and nama bieru have landed me a couple nice lady friends to shop, share lunch, and explore this city with.

Melissa and I met at one of these knitting sessions. She’s an American artist from Baltimore, and unfortunately, I’m sad to say that she’ll be returning back to the states soon. She’s here in Japan doing an artist residency at Youkobo. I admire her a great deal because I feel like she’s a true force keeping the creative/artistic spirit alive. She applied for a grant to come to Japan and practice her art, but was denied the funding. Without any funding, she decided she still wanted to accomplish her goal. She busted her behind for a year waiting tables, saved some dough, and came to Japan. She spent a month making paper at a traditional Japanese Washi mill in Shikoku. She then came to Tokyo, where she sutured and painted these cutie, surreal nature characters and environments onto her paper. I thought her show was really nice. Her paintings felt familiar, and reminded me of Portland. I guess they also reminded me of east London, Brooklyn, and Tokyo. Come to think of it, I guess that nature/animal theme and aesthetic has been big all over the place for a while now. I'm no art critic, but if I had a steady job by now, I would have definitely snagged one of her pieces.