LAist first saw artist Emi Motokawa's yarn creations at at the Japanese American National Museum in the exhibit "Kokeshi: From Folk Art to Art Toy". Motokawa calls her giant crocheted kokeshi dolls 'Krokeshi'. She also makes smaller versions of the dolls that are available at the JANM museum store, The Reform School, Nucleus in Alhambra, Black Market on Sawtelle, Flicka on Larchmont, and The Flock Shop in Chinatown.

Showcasing the influence of her Japanese heritage, Buddhist studies, and life in Los Angeles, currently nineteen of Motokawa's paintings are on display at the William Grant Still Art Center. LAist asked Motokawa about the origins of her krokeshi, where she find inspiration, and what she loves about living in Los Angeles

You were born in Japan and moved to Los Angeles when you were seven. What are your first memories of living here?

At the age of seven, I remember watching the morning cartoons, probably The Flintstones or something like that. I was mesmerized and fascinated by it. I didn't understand what they were saying in English but it didn't matter, because the visuals alone were entertaining for a little girl. I also remember going to Disneyland. It was always fun to ride "It's a Small World" and seeing all the characters of different ethnicities. I think these two memories definitely influenced me and helped begin fueling my bicultural imagination.

You studied Buddhism in Japan for two years. How do your Buddhist studies influence your artwork?

Buddhism influences my work tremendously. My fascination is Buddhist concepts such as oneness, universality, compassion, and human nature. I try to take these old concepts and express through a pop, modern picture. By doing this, it helps me to deepen my own spirituality. It's a very fun process for me and my drive is to become better at it. Right now, I am painting caricatures of different bodhisattvas that appear in Buddhist sutras.

You also worked as a flight attendant for six years. Did you meditate before long flights?

For me, being a flight attendant was sort of a big meditation because you get to quietly observe all sorts of people and places. People seems to be very different, but not really.

Your Krokeshi dolls were featured in the "Kokeshi: From Folk Art to Art Toy" exhibit at the JANM and in the museum store. How did the idea for the crocheted "Krokeshi" dolls come about? Do you hand crochet all of the dolls? How long does it take to make one?

The creation of the Krokeshi dolls was purely "being at the right place at the right time," and popped out of thin air! I work at the JANM museum store and one day my boss was talking about curating the kokeshi doll exhibit. I was looking to create something to sell at the store so when the kokeshi conversation came up, a vision of a crocheted kokeshi popped into my mind. So that was the beginning of the hand crochet 10" Krokeshi dolls. It took about four hours to make one and eventually led to the creation of the six jumbo 3.5 foot version that went into the exhibition.

It took me about six months to finish all six. With the jumbo dolls, I tried to express the idea of "different but equal," thus creating five different skin colors to show ethnicity, but all in one standard kokeshi shape. You could say its my version of "It's A Small World".

Your paintings are features in "Random Minors, Major Players" at the William Grant Still Art Center. What pieces are you showing in that exhibit?

I have 19 paintings of various sizes in the show at the William Grant Still Art Center.

In 2007 you painted a series of images called "I Love LA". What do you love most about LA?

I love LA because this city has raised me to be who I am today. So naturally, I love many things about LA from its people, to its history, to its cultural diversity, to the variety of neighborhoods, to the spread-out layout of the city, to the weather. I think these are some of the things that makes LA LA and I find beauty in it. I hear many people compare LA to other major cities, but it's so different. I'd rather just enjoy what I see before me with a fresh outlook every time. I consider myself an Angeleno and proud to be one!

Thanks Emi!

Emi Motokawa's paintings are currently on display at at the William Grant Still Art Center at 2520 South West View Street. She will also be exhibiting the jumbo krokeshi dolls again in December for the African Doll Annual Show. For more information and news about upcoming shows you can find her at emi m.

Filed in Arts & Events and tagged Buddhism, Disneyland, Emi Motokawa, JANM, kokeshi, krokeshi, William Grant Still Art Center