Ninjagrl: The character “Ninjagrl” has only been around for a few years. She appeared sometime in October, 2005. Although, people have pointed out to me that a lot of my earlier works contained girls with very similar characteristics, so I think in a way it's been an evolution over the course of my life. Which ties in to your next question…

Ninjagrl: Yeah, I don't think I could deny that she's pretty much me. Some paintings are too personal for me to actually verbalize, but I can say that when she first started showing up a lot, I had recently gone through a breakup and was feeling quite blue. It was so amazingly cathartic to put all my sadness and anger and loneliness into this girl on canvas. Whatever I was feeling would be what she felt, hence a lot of early ninjas appear rather heartbroken. I will admit she often doesn't look too cheerful, but that isn't to say she's always sad. She's just a quiet, introspective girl with a bent towards the melancholy.

Her sidekick, Turtle, also tends to have a lot of the same qualities as my cat, who happens to be named Turtle. Sometimes you just need a little friend to share your secrets with and to keep you company when you are sad.

Ninjagrl: Oh yeah, well, I talked about Turtle. She really does provide the comic relief in real life that he/she does in my paintings and drawings, too. And, since Turtle and I are temporarily parted, I couldn't very well incorporate her in my art, since she isn't here. Well, okay, so I have this stuffed chococat here, who may or may not sometimes play the role of the bunny in my more recent works. (I can't believe I'm saying this…this is so un-stealth. Turtle would so be laughing at me…) Actually, the very first ninjagrl I drew was holding a stuffed bunny and a book. I think the bunny's always been a kind of symbol of security, and the manner in which she interacts with him indicates her level of need at the moment. Sometimes she's holding him close, sometimes down at her side indifferently, in one she's leaving him behind, and maybe on one occasion he may have "accidentally" been decapitated…

Ninjagrl: I really have no idea. Probably because I have no idea where I will be! That sort of thing used to kinda scare me, but now I find it exciting. Things keep changing. I don't know how ninjagrl will change or where she'll go. I don't know if she'll evolve with me, or if we'll have to just part ways, but I hope we both have many more adventures ahead of us!

Ninjagrl: I'm not really sure… The only thing I can say about that is that I think she is feeling what a lot of people can relate to. I think she's rather unassuming and, I hope, genuine. There’s nothing guarded about her, and her vulnerability probably opens people up to recognizing their own feelings? [Laughs] What a load of crap. When I try to answer these questions, it sounds like there is some deep philosophical ninja principal, but I really just paint what I'm feeling.

Ninjagrl: I get asked that a lot, and I wish I had a better story! I've had that name myself for many years, and I don't know why, other than I tend to be a really, really, quiet (shy and desiring to be unseen!), stealth girl, so somehow I got that name. Which is why answering these questions goes against everything in my nature, but I'm trying!

The missing "I", to be honest, came about during my dating-a-hacker-boy years. I've wanted to rename her since, to something less "common" and, well, kinda silly, but it just doesn't seem right. I think it's too late. Although, I am amused when my five-year-old niece calls me "Inja Girl" and my three-year-old nephew, “Ginger Girl,” so maybe there could be something there.

Ninjagrl: For many years, I claimed Egon Schiele as my favorite artist. I have always been most interested in art that deals with the human form, as well as human emotion, and his has both to the extreme. I went through some pretty dark years in my life, too, and I think his work—feeling somewhat tortured but always passionate and evocative—really moved me. A lot of my earlier drawings and paintings had a much darker, sketchier quality, too. But since the first time I saw Yoshitomo Nara's work, I don't think I've seen anything else I've related to or admired more. His characters have such a unique combination of qualities—looking young and innocent while at the same time angry or mean, sad or vulnerable. I love how “simple” the paintings can be—a lone character on a plain background—yet so full of feeling. To be honest, I often go through “what am I doing? This isn't art, you're just painting a silly little girl” periods, but for some reason Nara's work helps remind me that something doesn't have to be complex in subject or detail to be moving.

Ninjagrl: The idea for the painting entitled “Don't Go” and the idea for the show developed somewhat simultaneously. The painting was about leaving Turtle. When I moved out to the Bay Area last August, I had to leave Turtle with my parents for awhile. I miss her and feel bad for leaving. Funny, I guess that painting is pretty straightforward, huh? Then I started thinking about all the times I've felt left behind, or what and whom I've left. Having just picked up and moved across the country I've left a lot: friends, job, my home. And, that led me to thinking about parts of myself that have been left behind over the years as my personality changes and grows. I thought it would be really interesting to see how different artists would interpret the subject in their works.

The artists are all people whose work I admire. Some I know personally, others I've seen their work in galleries or online. I didn't choose based upon subject, but rather on style, so I imagine the show will have a wide variety of takes on the theme.

Ninjagrl: My first two years of college consisted mainly of fine arts courses at a small liberal arts college, but after that, I switched to architecture where I earned my BArch from the University of Minnesota. I feel really lucky to have gone there as my studies were based a lot more on design and theory than practice. Not that it wasn't a good base for a career in architecture, but I always had this feeling I'd rather do something slightly off the beaten path. I still don't know exactly what that is; it might keep changing!

I had been working as a 3D modeler/animator for an architectural visualization company in Chicago until I moved out here, but I am not sure what is next. Sometimes, I would like to have had more of a formal art education, because I sometimes feel I'm not “doing it right’ and that I don't have any right to be showing people my work, but a lot of the artists I know haven't had much training either.

I'm all for art education, but even if it didn't exist formally, there would still be great artists, as there are in any society, whether recognized or not. I don't feel like I can speak too much on the subject as I haven't experienced much in the way of the art scene except that which has grown out of the streets.

Ninjagrl: I just draw and paint stuff. Years ago it was a lot of really dark self-portraits, and I've since realized that during the Dark Years, as I so fondly refer to them, I had all but stopped making any art. Which came first I don't know, but now I know it's got to be a part of me to feel whole.

Ninjagrl: Not really. [Smiles]

Actually, since leaving Chicago I've not been wandering the streets alone so much, but hopefully that will change again soon.

Ninjagrl: The more I learn about the need for sustainable living and for each of us to do our part, the harder it gets to buy new products, when there are so many perfectly usable things out there that will just end up in landfills if we keep producing/buying more instead of using what we've got. I do not maintain to live as efficiently as I could, so I do not mean to preach, but I think the more that people become aware of the need and the more mainstream it becomes, the easier it will be for all of us.

People had to teach me these things, so if we could all just spread the word… I used to be embarrassed that my family shopped at Goodwill, because it was what we could afford, but now I love getting interesting and unique things, as well as helping the environment! That having been said, yes, I still do a lot of work on canvas, but I also like finding unique pieces to paint on as well, be they on the street, in the trash, or at a thrift store. Usually, it's something that I see some inherent beauty in. Today, I picked up a really cool Thai fish sauce box on the curb!

Ninjagrl: Just over a year ago my siblings and I were helping my mom clean out their basement. We had piles to be saved—piles of trash and piles for Goodwill. I saw this old music book on the Goodwill pile. It was from 1898. The pages are yellowed and have a soft, worn feel to them. The songs in the book were a wonderful mix of ethnic folk tunes, religious hymns, patriotic anthems, nursery rhymes, seasonal tunes. I claimed it from the pile, and that night I sat down with it and a pile of Prismas and drew a ninja on a page with a song called “Night,” about the moon, “she's come in silver silence keeping.” I think I did four that night, while we watched a movie. I liked the way the paper felt, I liked picking out subject matter in the songs and drawing something related to it, and I liked carrying the book with me wherever I went. It's probably about half empty now, but my mom actually found me a new old music book from the 50's to start on next.

Ninjagrl: That is so hard for me to answer… I feel like I just got here and don't know the area very well at all! I'm still getting used to the difference in weather and topography! I think right now I am a bit overwhelmed by the variety here… of everything. Before moving here I had been to San Francisco a number of times and always loved it and wanted to move there… but never had been anywhere else in the Bay Area. Now I find myself living on the east bay and am amazed at how much else there is around here. There are so many pockets of different communities. Some of the smaller towns along BART on the East Bay remind me a lot of Chicago neighborhoods. But nothing is like living by the ocean. And near mountains. It's stunning.

Ninjagrl: Again, I still feel like I am too new to be of much help there! I am finding new places every day. I'd suggest hitting any of the ethnic festivals that seem to be going on all the time. And maybe checking out Café Gratitude in Berkeley.

Ninjagrl: I'm not prepared to answer that yet. [Smiles]

Ninjagrl: Cargo ships, cargo ships. Cargo ships. I don't know what it is…. (If anyone can get me onto a cargo ship I'd owe you lots of ninjas.) What I've seen of Seattle I love. I want to explore more neighborhoods… but mostly I'm enthralled with the waterfront. Starfish off the piers and all the traffic in the sound. And there seem to be a lot of tracks on the south side of downtown.