Meet Aya Kakeda | Artist/Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aya Kakeda and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aya, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
Feeling the energy of the City and creating art makes me happy. I tend to be interested in too many things at the same time.
For many years, I was doing a balancing act of Freelance illustration, Teaching, Ceramic sculptures, painting, bookmaking, and bolting towards anything interesting to me at the time.
I used to think I had a problem. I thought that doing everything at once would never accomplish anything. And I was always rushing. Now I think back, the chaotic energy that I had matched the energy of New York City which was my home for 22 years. And after all, I loved it. By trying many things I met so many great artists/communities and I learned so much! My love for multi-tasking grew over the years, I think my brain functions better that way.
Last summer I made a big move to Tokyo. Tokyo energy is quite different than NY. There are a lot of people and a lot of visual information everywhere, but somehow the energy is calming. I slowed down quite a bit. Maybe I’m a chameleon of Cities.
Now my pace slowed down, I have more time to think. Since it’s a new city I still have a lot of adjusting to do, but I’m looking forward to finding a new pace to create art that matches the energy of Tokyo.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Right after graduating from school, I was a bit lost about what kind of illustrator I wanted to be. I started a project to build my world called Totai Island. This was an imaginary island I made when I was little and I wanted to expand and rediscovered this island as an adult. I started making small stories, rituals, characters, and environments. Created a series of paintings, silkscreen posters, handmade books, and embroideries. Those works became the core of my artmaking. I started to promote myself as an illustrator with these series and started my freelance career. Since I made many physical objects, this also started my gallery career. I think being curious and trying new things helped me grow as an artist. This curiosity landed me some interesting gigs. Dancing around with a decorated body-size mustache costume, creating uniforms for independent films, decorating hotel rooms and department store windows, and making installations for music festivals. These unique gigs were not directly related to my illustration career but they challenged me to work with different materials, created friendships with creative people who are outside of my illustration world, and enriched my creative life. Curiosity for learning new materials also led me to ceramic which I now can not live without. My dream is to own my own kiln and participate in ceramic residencies around the world.

For the illustration career, I was scared of changing my style of illustration when I was younger. I thought I needed to have a concrete style to be successful. My illustration and art style has changed over the years and I started to feel at peace with the change. I think it will keep changing. And for better if I keep nurturing my curiosity!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would love to show them my neighborhood in Tokyo.

Here is my itinerary for one day in my neighborhood.

Yanaka walk— Yanaka is a very special neighborhood with a lot of temples, small and scenic streets, delicious food, and neighborhood cats.

In the morning starting from —>

Vaner — sourdough bakery which has amazing Croissants and Pain au chocolate. It’s located in an old Machia-style traditional Japanese house and on a sunny day, it’s nice to sit outside and eat some pastry with coffee.

Kabaya Coffee. — If Vaner is too crowded, you can have a nice coffee at Kabaya Coffee. The building was built in 1914. And it’s been a coffee house for more than 70 years.

Sky the bath house— Right by the coffee shop and the bakery, there is a contemporary art museum. They converted the public bath into the gallery so you can still see some original structures like two entrances for women and men, a big chimney, and a tall ceiling. They show contemporary arts from domestic and international artists.

Yanaka Cemetery — Yanaka has one of the biggest cemeteries. During Spring time, the cemetery is covered by Cherry blossoms. It’s a peaceful walk in the cemetery. You can spot some cats around, too.

Kokonn— Down the street from the cemetery, my favorite ceramic store. They often have an exhibition for new ceramic artists. The ceramics are made by young artists from all over Japan.

Isetatsu— also nearby, is a beautiful traditional paper store. They opened in 1864, and still sell some patterned papers which are from that time. Their papers are so beautiful that you can definitely frame them for your home.

Yuyake Dandan — If you are looking for more small shops and some snacks, you can head to Yuyake Dandan / Yanaka Ginza area. Yanaka Ginza is a super retro shopping strip for locals. Yuyake Dandan is the name of the staircase that leads to the strip. Here you can find some neighborhood cats relaxing on the steps sometimes.

Zakuro– If you are tired of traditional Japanese food, you can stop by Zakuro. It’s an Uzbekistan restaurant. Once you step into their place, you will forget you are in Japan!

Yanaka Beer Hall — When you are tired from strolling around the neighborhood, you can rest at Yanaka Beer Hall. They have original craft beers. The beer hall is located in the same old Japanese house as Vaner. There is some outside seating as well and has yummy tapas.

Yanaka has full of temples so it’s also nice to stop by some of them to check out their architecture and small gardens.
The area is right by Ueno park, so I suggest you walk toward Ueno park after you stroll in Yanaka.

Ueno Park — is famous for many museums. There are seven museums inside including National Museum, Science museum, ChildrenBook museum, and three Fine Art Museums. My favorite is the National Museum. Especially The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures.
They have a few temples inside, too. I love coming to this park every season. It’s famous for the spring cherry blossoms, it’s very rush in the summer, ginkgo trees in the Fall, and calm crisp air in the Winter.

Shinobazu pond — In the lower part of the Ueno park, there is a very large pond called Shinobazu Pond. This pond will be covered in Water lilies during the summer. It’s kind of an impressive sight since water lilies grow pretty tall covering all the surface of the water, from far it looks like a never-ending field of green.

Gelateria Mamma Mia or Mihashi— After all the walking you can find a small gelato shop near the pond. It’s run by an Italian gelato maker and is very charming. Another great spot for sweets near the pond is Mihashi. It’s a traditional Japanese sweet cafe. I love their fruit-cream-anmitsu! They also have shaved ice for the summertime.

Now you are in Ueno, it’s nice to walk around the Ameyoko area. It’s a huge market with food vendors located in the heart of Ueno.
In Ameyoko plaza in the basement, you can find an Asian market where you can find spices and food from different Asian countries. If you are tired of the crowd, you can check out the Tokudaiji temple. It’s an elevated temple which you can see the train passing by next to it. It’s kind of a gem in the middle of the city.

For dinner, this area has many Asian restaurants that I like. Arenmoku is one of my favorite Korean Restaurants that serves the best pajeon. Few Thai restaurants I like, Shiya Tom Yam Kung Phochana and Koo Soi Ameyoko.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So many people! I’m so lucky to have a loving supportive community of artist friends and mentors in my life. When I moved to New York and attended the School of Visual Arts MFA Illustration program, I met Marshall Arisman and David Sandlin. They both taught me how to be creative, how to find my artistic voice, and how to be a good human. I was so lucky to have them as mentors. I also want a shoutout to Mr.&Mr. Studio (Alexis&Pierre) and Marie Losier. They told me how everyday life can be art, how to be true to your passion, and how to live creatively. My friends Yunmee Kyong and EunHa Paek. Their art always moves me. They are MEGA talented! Sara Varon and Isabel Roxas make amazing children’s books and graphic nobles. They are book warm like me so it’s always fun to exchange what books we are reading and the conversation inspires me.
Sculpture Space NYC. My favorite studio space in NYC. Magda and Andy created beautiful studio spaces for ceramic artists and monthly exhibitions. I was able to create more large-scale sculptures thanks to them!
I love books by Shinji Ishii. The way he writes is so visual and he always brings me to a surprising and mysterious world.
Oi, I can go on forever!

Website: www.ayakakeda.com

Instagram: @ayakakeda

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayakakeda/

Twitter: @AyaKakeda

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ayakakedaart/

Image Credits
aya.jpg—- photo by Xi Nan aya1.jpg — photo by Bryan Anton