About this Shop

plastique monkey SHOP sells work by me, yuka yamaguchi. the catalogue includes original drawings, prints, postcards and my handmade useless toys.

My Self-Introduction

i was born in kobe, japan and am now living in saskatoon, canada. i’ve recently started telling people that i’m an artist. i’m self-taught and i work mostly to entertain and challenge myself. i make useless toys and art for adult-children. for my drawings, i use color pencils and ballpoint pens. i like to produce my work without thinking about its meaning. the images just come to my mind, all i do is to place them onto paper.

My Art Career

my first public show was in kingston, ontario in august, 2004. i moved to saskatoon last summer, and since then, i've had several solo and group gallery shows, and i’ve been taking part in local street festivals and art fairs. the response has been very positive. two local newspapers have done feature articles about me this year. i’ve been offered a show at a major gallery here in saskatoon next spring. i want to continue to find new places to show my artwork in real life, but in the meantime, i’ve been showing my work online.

My Online Art Life

i started my art blog, plastique monkey, in early 2006. it is intended to make it easier for people to find my work and for people outside saskatoon to see my work. many people have seen my work online this year, on my site and on my flickr page. through this website, i’ve been able to reach many people who i never could have met otherwise.

online, people can view my work in their living room or study room. i like the sense of everyday life. i don’t have a studio or an office. i do my drawings at my kitchen table and sew my useless toys sitting on the living room floor. my drawing style and technique have been evolving quickly, even this year. by putting my work online, people (including myself) can watch how it’s changing. it’s “live” on my blog.

i like to show my work as soon as i finish it. i don’t want to wait forever for a gallery to accept my work and show it. you may not know this, but it can take a year or more to prepare and open a gallery show. i produce a lot of work quickly, and i don’t have the patience to wait that long. so i set up my own gallery online, where i can choose what to show, when to show it, and how to present it. i represent myself.

Why I Started This Shop

i started this SHOP to try to connect my online artwork with people who like it, wherever they are. i want as many people as possible to see my work and enjoy it. so i'm trying to make it as easy as possible for you to find what you want, buy it and have it shipped to you.

everything is being done from our apartment. we keep the shop items, boxes and supplies in the second bedroom. i make all the toys by hand. we deal with local print shops to make high quality digital prints, postcards and posters for us. since they are local shops, we can talk to the printers directly and supervise the quality. everything is packed by hand and shipped with Canada Post.

i’ve registered the plastique monkey SHOP name as a business. i have a license to collect provincial and federal taxes, and accounts with Canada Post and Internetsecure (the credit card processing company). the plastique monkey website is designed by my husband, paul, using open source software. everything about this business is under my own control, so you can trust that i’ll do my best to take care of any problems that might come up. for me, i just like being my own boss… :D

What Do You Think?

my SHOP is just getting started. i’d like to hear what you think about it, good or bad. if you have any comments, questions or concerns, please let me know.

thanks for dropping by,
yuka yamaguchi
5 november 2006