In autumn of 2004, I self-published a book entitled ISSA.
I began this book journey in the fall of 1988 soon after graduating from college. During those days at CalArts, I made various music posters to help promote fellow students’ concert recitals. They were pleasing and nice from an illustrative standpoint, but they didn’t have any deeper connections than simply playful and pleasant to look at. I thought what happened if I choose to express certain feelings beneath the visual representation of an image…and so along came this picture book.
Life’s spirit is an elusive energy, and it reflexes itself through emotions. I hope that in some ways, you might find traces of them in these images, and that they might have touched you in some ways…then as one who draws, I am most grateful!
ISSA is also the name of my cat. She came to my life at the early stages of this book journey in 1990 and has taught me to respect all living beings. She since passed away in the summer of 2002.
The pictures were made with color pencil, pen-and-ink on color paper, over a span of 15 years.
