Chapter 1: What does it mean to feel like you're treading water as an artist?
Bye. You're listening to the Art Problems Podcast, episode 109. I'm your host, Patty Johnson. This is the podcast where we talk about how to get more shows, grants, and residencies. And before we jump in, I want to let you know about a free info session I'm hosting this Wednesday, February 25th at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time called How to Become a Biennial Artist.
We're going to talk about what it actually takes to get into these major exhibitions and and how to build the kind of career that gets you noticed. You can register at the link in the show notes. Today, I'm talking with Yuko Oda, a Boston-based artist who joined Network just over a year ago, feeling like she'd been treading water for decades.
Despite graduating from RISD in 2000 and working professionally for 23 years, she felt confused about her trajectory, overwhelmed by saying yes to everything, and uncertain about how to turn opportunities into meaningful career progress. And my guess is that a lot of you may relate to some of this. So what changed for Yuko?
Well, in just over a year, Yuko sold her first major piece directly to a collector, secured a three-piece commission for a downtown Boston high-rise, exhibited in Rome, and found a rhythm line lets her balance her teaching with her ambitious studio goals.
We talk about overcoming the hesitation to invest in yourself, how accountability groups helped her navigate everything from invoices to artist consultant splits, why the second time through goal-setting workshops, is when it all clicks and what it feels like to finally know where you are and where you're going, instead of like you're just sort of floating without any control in a bubble.
This is what momentum looks like. So let's dive in. Yuko, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me, Patti. Yeah, so I wanted to have you on the show because you've been a Network member for how long now? It's been a little over a year. Yeah.
A year and one month.
So you've been a member for a while and I wanted to do first like just a trip down memory lane. What brought you to Network?
It felt like I was kind of like treading water in the same place. Ever since I went to graduate school in 2000 to Rhode Island School of Design and then graduated and went into the career field. But that was 23 years ago. I've been making strides, but it often felt like I was confused as I was making progress.
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Chapter 2: How did Yuko Oda transition from confusion to career clarity?
And I wanted more targeted strategies. I think to move from point A to point B, and I wanted to not be so confused. And so when I saw you on Instagram, and you were saying some very encouraging things, I looked into your website, and I think it was called the masterclass. It was like the video. So that was eye opening for me. I watched it.
And my takeaway was that art career success is not necessarily based on meritocracy. So it wasn't really necessarily about just making the best work. There's so much more involved. And I think that gave me like an aha moment, like, oh, maybe I've been kind of approaching this whole path in a way that wasn't really helping me. And I wanted to find out more.
I think I have some question about where you felt like. You were doing things, but they weren't working out for you. So I'm just wondering how you evaluated what the consequences were or even identified them. Because a lot of times in the art world, you have consequences for doing things.
They're not necessarily made clear to you because a lot of them take the form of opportunities that just don't come to you.
Yeah, I think when I was in my 20s and 30s and some of my 40s, I was thinking, oh, if I get enough group shows and I do enough quantity, it would result in tangible leaps in an upward trajectory. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Some kind of recognition, but I didn't know what that would be. But I guess it would be like getting a prestigious grant or getting into one of those residencies that are competitive.
I would get some opportunities along the way, but I also felt like there were few and far in between. I was still struggling also figuring out what was important, what was not important, how to make my practice sustainable, all of these things felt challenging and confusing.
It was almost like I was saying yes to everything, but then kind of spreading myself too thin and maybe like just kind of making these lateral moves instead of taking a step forward.
Now, was there a specific moment or something that created some urgency to solving this problem? But what was it that made you think, okay, now I'm going to make this change?
That's a very good question because I've been thinking about that. And in 2024, I had a job position change where before that I'm teaching at UMass Lowell. But before that, I was in a teaching position where I had to teach more courses and they didn't really regard my research or art practice as much.
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Chapter 3: What strategies helped Yuko overcome hesitation in her art career?
What can I say yes to? And what do I have to say no to? I wanted a strategy. That was when I actually was hanging out with a friend and her friend, who's a painter, so it was like an acquaintance, mentioned that she had experienced this program called Network. And I think she had only done it for a month or two, but she just mentioned how she was learning a lot. She had learned a lot.
And I was curious about what that was. And then I saw... you on Instagram. So that was sort of the breadcrumb that led me then to when I saw you, oh, I'm curious, I want to know, know more.
I like that the way that you found out about network is through network. It's the It is living up to its name in many ways. That is the dream. I do think that the networks of artists are really important. So of course, if you hear from somebody that, hey, this is I'm learning a lot from this. And then you see something on Instagram where it makes sense for you.
Obviously, like that's a kind of a good path to go down. Now you joined maybe like, was it end of December then 2024?
Yes. I think it was December 31st or January 1st or one of those days, because I remember Brad, my partner and I were looking at the network and I was like, I'm going to do it. Okay, honey. And he was like, okay, I support you. It was New Year's Eve or something. So it felt even more symbolic.
Oh, that's funny. That's such a good story. So it sounds like you were a little nervous about doing it. Did you have hesitations?
I was hesitant because I think I'm kind of wary about that I have to pay for that I find on Instagram.
Oh my God.
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Chapter 4: How did accountability groups impact Yuko's artistic journey?
And so, I mean, I think that's so true though, right? I don't know how many times I've bought things on Instagram and then I was like, why did I do that? I have a lot on a low level. I have a lot of cat toys that really the cat will never touch. And on a higher level, I have a lot of courses that I was like, this seemed like a good idea.
But yeah, I mean, the thing is, network has been an amazing tool. experience for me. And for me, it's worth every penny. But the general rule is, yeah, anything I'm buying off of Instagram, I'm like, hmm, is this really what I need? Maybe I should just do the month or something. But then I felt like, oh, I don't want to feel rushed. I don't want to rush something.
I kind of need more time to do this, right? Yeah. And the other part of why I was hesitant is because I felt like I should be able to figure this out by myself. I've been doing this for a long time. Why should I pay for this? There was this ego or some kind of like mental chatter that was shaming myself. Why are you paying for this? That feelings totally fizzled away.
I mean, I know that I felt that way for most things. I have a period of that. I don't know. I wish I could say that I were a little bit more generous about that, but I become very afraid that my own judgment, there's been a lapse in it and that I'll go into, you know, It's almost like I'm looking for evidence that actually the thing that I bought sucks because I suck. I just didn't know.
It takes a little bit to clear that. I do wonder whether that's part of what people call buyer's remorse, where they purchase a thing and then immediately they're like, oh my God, did I make the right decision? Yes. But you so you said that there there was that initial phase, but you did get through it. Yes. What? Yeah.
So like, tell me about what your experience in the FERC has been from sort of the start of just kind of going in, dipping your toes in. being a little bit nervous about what it all was to getting your legs and figuring out how to use it in ways that where you were able to benefit from the experience that you got and, you know, do things like grow your career.
I wrote some tangible results, but I also feel there's kind of a rhythm that I've found the way I am learning and gaining from the membership and being part of it.
Oh, that's interesting.
Yes. And it really works. I mean, I don't know if other people feel this way, but I think they must. I feel like it's multi-layered. I am part of a couple of accountability groups and they're art crit groups. One meets every other Friday. And there we catch up with what's going on in our lives art-wise and ask each other questions.
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