Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimizu

Award winning Japanese illustrator based in New York City and instructor at School of Visual Arts.

my kids book sneak peek! (and American Illustration!)

In case you didn’t know, this week is a Mayor Bloomberg approved official Illustration Week in New York. One of the biggest event of the week is American Illustration and American Photography Annual publishing party in a beautiful old synagog in Lower East Side.
I have six images accepted  into this year’s annual, among them four are from first children’s book I have illustrated, which is due out in spring 2013.
Barbed Wire Baseball was written by Marissa Moss.  As you may be able to guess, it is a story takes place in wartime Japanese internment camp. It is a story of endurance and hope.
It was a tremendous amount of work to get full book done. I am so happy that they got accepted into the Annual.
You can see all the images from this year’s American Illustration 31 Annual here.

 

ha, I didn’t know I was so controversial in Japan. (And that’s kinda cool.)

Over the weekend, blogger Philip Kendall contacted from Japan letting me know that he has written a post about me on RocketNews24, which features mostly niche and light-hearted trend and news from Japan and other parts of Asia.
I have been aware that my site has been getting more visitors from my home country of Japan (where my work is virtually unknown) recently. But I didn’t know my work was getting some controversy over there till I read Philip’s article. And that’s kind of cool. I am definitely not going for ‘safe’ work.  Well, just please do not send me hate mails directly :-b
Read the full article here. 

 

Sandy hit NYC.

Sandy hit New York really hard this week. I am fine, and so are my friends, though some have lost power in their area. So, those who had asked, thank you so much for thinking about us in NYC area.

My studio has also survived the storm unharmed. But I have been home since Monday because the subway system is not working yet. I am hoping to come into work by the end of the week. For now, I am providing hot shower and home cooked meals to neighbors and friends.
Hope everyone in the affected areas are safe, and helping each other out.
xoxox

Below is Sandy’s arrival from my window.

and, working from home…. This week’s deadlines were sent out over the weekend for precautions. I was lucky to have relatively easy week this week. 

A pot full of Japanese curry, cooked with lots of Indian spices, bananas, apples and chocolete… my special recipe: spicy and sweet.

And a pot full of my special oxtail Borscht. I never have time to cook oxtail for half a day unless I am stuck at home!
Polish borscht I had in Warsaw were all very sweet, so I tried out adding sweetness with apples.It worked!

studio still under renovation…

I am back in my studio since Tuesday, but the renovation is still in progress here.
For clients, my studio phone is currently not working, so if you need to contact, please e-mail or call my cell phone instead.

Today was my office-assistant Mr. Bruiser’s first day back to work. He initially did not like the pile of boxes, different desk arrangements,  half finished walls and taken-out closet doors, but eventually became comfortable enough to take a nap in between his busy office work.

My studio should be back in shape and start in full function mode from next week (if that storm does not hit NY, that is).

(while I was gone…) Sketchtravel Exhibit opened in San Francisco

Hi, I am back from Warsaw, Poland. While I was gone, I missed some big events on the stateside. Multiple people told me there was a huge banner of one of The Unwritten covers I illustrated at New York Comi Con. (photo on the bottom, borrowed from Tor Books Facebookpage)
On top of that, Sketchtravel‘s Special exhibition opened in San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum. the original sketchbook was auctioned off last year, so the show consists of the actual size replicas from the original. I received the sketchbook from my former roommate James Jean. So, I think our drawings are showcased right next to eachother I think. That is nice…
Show is up till February, so if you are or will be in San Francisco, please visit the museum. (photos are borrowed from Sketchtravel Facebook page)

(and here is that photo from NY Comi Con, as promised…)

new T-shirt line from Slovakian brand GoodSon

You may think it is a bit odd that my new limited edition T-shirt line is coming out from Slovakia?
Well,,, this company wrote one of the most memorable e-mail to persuade me to work with them! So, here are the results!  (I hope to write a blog post about this when I am back from the business trip to Poland)
Four designs with three T-shirt colors, just became available from GoodSon of  Trencin, Slovakia.
Currently, the site is in Slovak only, but they are working on getting English site launched with shipping to foreign countries including US. I will announce here once the English site is ready.

Sunday in Warsaw, worshop is sold out, but come to the lecture!


I am about to head out to Warsaw, Poland to participate as a guest for Warsaw Under Construction (Warszawa W Budowie) Festival organized by Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw. There will be a lecture and workshop during my visit.
I was initially going to announce the workshop on my site, but the space was quickly filled up within the same day the museum announced it over the weekend. A good news is, that  lecture that is open to public. I will be mainly talking about outdoor advertising and illustration.
I don’t read Polish, but for those who do, here are links related to the events:
on Warsaw Under Construction official site
on Natemat.pl

It will be my second time in Warsaw, and first time in six years. I had a fantastic time during my last visit, and hoping it be the same (or better!) this time.
Thank  you for my friend and local illustrator Agata Nowicka and everyone at Warsaw MoMA for organizing and to invite me to the event. (photo below is Agata and me, six years ago during my visit).

I have life outside of illustration. Well, sort of. My everyday pics

Believe or not, I do have life outside of illustration. Whenever I have time, I cook, and I do cook some serious odd things like oxtail borscht turned into risotto turned into risotto pancake. That kind of stuff.  I travel whenever I can. I am also a crazy dog mommy.

As many of you may already know, Instagram just became web browser friendly. So, even if you don’t have an account, you can check out what I am up to and seeing through my iPad lens. instagram.com/yukoart/

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