We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yuko Kyutoku a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Yuko, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
What my parents taught me was to always be curious and try new things, to always do my best, to always have an attitude of learning and moving forward, and to never be afraid of failure. They also taught me to learn from mistakes and apply the experience to the next time. My parents also continued to support me in pursuing and achieving what I am interested in, such as visual arts and therapy, and what my dreams are, without giving up on them in life.
So my parents taught me the importance of being curious and trying everything, never giving up halfway, always doing my best, cherishing and pursuing the things I love, and making my dreams come true with hard work and a positive attitude.
My parents always wanted me to be exposed to the best things from a young age, so they always took me to many places, books, movies, theaters, lectures, classes, and concerts. In particular, when my father realized that I liked the arts that I was good at, he took me to many art classes and music concerts, such as pottery, oil painting, collage, opera, piano lessons, and traditional Japanese calligraphy. He also attended these classes with me and taught me the importance of learning as much as possible from the professors, always asking questions, and enjoying the process. When I had a piano recital in elementary school, I made a mistake during the performance and was depressed and ashamed of myself, but after the recital my father did not scold me but praised me for doing my best. I think these experiences taught me not to give up and to keep trying without fear of failure. Our mentor is Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher, poet, and peace educator. Dr. Daisaku Ikeda said, “The risk of failure is part of trying. If you never try anything, you’ll never fail. If you fail, the important thing is to gather new courage and get up again. No matter how many times you fall, keep going forward with an invincible determination. Victory and defeat in life are decided at the last moment. My parents often shared Dr. Ikeda’s quotes with me when I was young, and they have inspired me in many valuable ways throughout my life.
The influence of growing up in such a positive and resourceful environment still has a positive effect on me. Even as a graduate student, I was the kind of student who always wanted to grow and learn as much as I could, and I sought out and enrolled in both art and therapy trainings and classes outside of graduate school. While studying Art Therapy at New York University, I continued to follow my interests and completed several trainings, including becoming a mindfulness and meditation teacher during my summer breaks. I recently completed a post-master’s certificate program in addiction to become an addiction counselor in New York. In addition, I am currently taking several courses outside of work, including Somatic Healing Practitioner trainings and 200HR Yoga Teacher trainings, which I plan to complete by the end of the year.
My career as an artist has required constant learning and honing of skills, so I am always going to museums to see new exhibitions and check out new artists, finding and trying out new art supplies at art supply stores, and joining artist communities to exchange new ideas and work on collaborations at local galleries and organizations. When I was an undergraduate student, I backpacked through Europe to visit many art museums in person, as well as taking art classes at local organizations and purchasing local art supplies in those countries. I visited numerous museums during this trip and made many artist friends along the way. This year, I plan to fly to Chicago to visit galleries and museums to view art. My mentor, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, also said, “Effort and hard work build the bridge that connects your dreams to reality. Those who make constant efforts are full of hope. And hope, in turn, comes from steady effort. Embrace your dreams and go as far as they can take you. Looking back over the past few years, I am really enjoying my career as an artist and art therapist with many shows and projects, and I am truly grateful that my parents taught me the importance of this positive attitude, which definitely helped me to become who I am today.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I was born in Aichi, Japan and currently live in New York. Growing up by the mountains and rivers, my love for nature and the outdoors grew tremendously. Throughout my life, I have always been fascinated by images and how the world is represented through the eyes of others. I was naturally drawn to drawing and painting. My parents also encouraged me to explore what I liked as a child, so I took many art classes when I was young. This interest was cultivated throughout my childhood and developed further when I decided to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art, Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking at SUNY Purchase College in New York. I also received a Juror Choice Award from the college representative. During this time I also began to participate in numerous solo and group exhibitions including Cafe grumpy, Gallery Petite, Yada City Gallery, Ouchi Gallery, Local Project Art Space, Consulate General of Japan in New York. My work has also been featured in many magazines and newspapers including Seikyo Newspaper, Create!Magazine and Chunichi Shimbun.
After completing my undergraduate degree, I delved deeper into my art practice and discovered a new field, art therapy. I then graduated from New York University with a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy. I also recently completed a post-master’s certificate in addiction programming at Adelphi University this spring. I currently work as a therapist at the Children’s Hospital of New York City and in private practice in Brooklyn, providing art therapy to support populations with mental health issues and disabilities. In addition to my art therapy practice, I am a certified mindfulness and meditation teacher, Ayurvedic nutritionist, pranayama practitioner, and mindfulness coach. This spring I also launched my own business, STUDIO COSMO, LLC in New York.
My art making process is transformative. I love to travel, visit museums, read books, watch movies, listen to music, and meet people, and I create art based on these rich life experiences. I have traveled to many countries around the world and have volunteered in elementary schools, homeless shelters, non-profits and churches in India, Cambodia, New York, Japan and Bangladesh. I feel that life experiences open up many possibilities and make my artwork richer and more unique. These rich experiences also help me work with diverse populations in the hospital and in private practice, and this year I have been working on publishing children’s books, having solo exhibitions in Japan and Greece, and being interviewed by magazines.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
If I could live my life over again, I would become an artist and an art therapist. I love what I do and have no regrets about choosing this career for my life, even though there are many obstacles and challenges along the way. Art has positively impacted my life in many ways and I have become a better person for pursuing it. Since I was in kindergarten, my classmates and teachers have praised my drawings and given me many great feedbacks and compliments that they like my artwork and want to see more of it. When I graduated from undergrand, the professors gave me compliments that I was talented and one of the most successful students they had. They also use my artwork as an example in their lectures. When I told them that I wanted to study art therapy at NYU, they told me that I should continue to make art even after I became a therapist. This really encouraged and motivated me to make art because I realized that I could somehow contribute to other people’s lives and make a good impact with my talent.
I had to study much harder to become a successful artist and I eventually became a hard working person. My passion was to create great/beautiful artwork that would make viewers happy and give them positive feelings after seeing my art. I worked very hard by reading books, attending art workshops, learning different subjects to express different ideas in my paintings and make better paintings. Also, the artwork shows the personality of the artist, so it helped me work on myself to become a better person as well. Creating art is time consuming, so my time management skills have also improved. I also have to work with other artists, and my communication and leadership skills need to be worked on, which I did. Meeting and getting to know new artists also allowed me to learn about their backgrounds, beliefs, and philosophies, and it made me open-minded about different subjects, including history, culture, religions, and traditional arts in different countries and centuries. Art makes my life so much richer and more enjoyable.
During graduate school, I also had many clinical internships and worked as an art therapist providing programs and sessions for children with neurological disorders and adults with mental illness. I see my clients benefit and achieve their goals by using art as a communication tool to express themselves visually and heal their inner struggles by sharing and process them during sessions. Art therapy is especially powerful for those who cannot verbally express their inner struggles, and making art allows them to do so in a non-harmful way. I enjoy what I do and art and art therapy are my passions and I see myself doing this for the rest of my life.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Keep learning, stay curious, keep yourself updated and open to new ideas. We need to be aware of what is going on in the world as many things are changing rapidly. It is important to keep updating and learning new skills and knowledge. My professor said that our training is not finished when I finish graduate school, and it is actually a foundation and we need to constantly learn and update ourselves, which I really agreed with. For example, there are new therapy trainings and research coming out related to social media and mental health issues and video game addiction during Covid that we did not address a decade ago. The world is changing and we as artists and art therapists need to evolve with it.
As Dr. Ikeda said, “Education must inspire the belief that each of us has both the power and the responsibility to effect positive change on a global scale. With this attitude, we can continue to create value in our communities and contribute to society.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yukokyutoku.com
- Instagram: yuko.kyutoku
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuko-kyutoku-907252180
Image Credits
Photo Shot: Ramsey Vasquez