Mixed Plate: My Name is Wasabi, and I Like to do Draw-rings

Wasabi, what the hell do you do besides blogging? Well, I've said it before that I do graphic design along with freelance writing and photography. And I also like to do draw-rings. I don't normally share daily workstuff on the blog, but I was so pleased with this piece, and it was somewhat food-related, so I just had to share, so pardon my hubris for the day. What I do for my daily 9-to-5 can include really special projects like this one, illustrating an editorial piece for our very own local awesomesauce newspaper, Northwest Asian Weekly.

Originally published in NW Asian Weekly - illustration by Wasabi, aka, Denise Sakaki

This was published for their Mother's Day feature, put together by Pat Tanumihardja, where they asked local writers to share personal memories of their moms and specific dishes that had great meaning to them. They even asked me to contribute a memory, of which I was very blessed to have it share the space with such well-known local food experts. You can see the full article here, on NW Asian Weekly's site.  I know it's not Mother's Day anymore, but we always say she's the hardest working lady we know and she deserves more than just one day of celebration. So gaze upon this drawing... and pick up the phone, she would appreciate a phone call saying, "hi."

Yes, I totally printed the article out and snail-mailed it to Wasabi Mom. It meant a lot to be able to send that piece to her, even if I had to kill a tree in the process.

This is how I hit "send" to give Wasabi Mom article copies - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I don't always get to do a lot of illustration work, and with a lot of creative freedom to boot, so it was a special treat to combine all the things I love into one project -- even food! Yes, those are real star anise, and I used the texture of rice paper to give the background a nice organic pattern. Wasabi, you so artsy! I also made the illustration into Mother's Day cards, so that was extra special as well. And I didn't have to pore over the greeting card aisle trying to choose the perfect card that you can never truly find.

I know it sounds cheesy, but the saying is true: "If you love what you do, then you'll never work a day in your life." Well, okay, I do work on plenty of bread-and-butter projects, and the hours get crazy, but when you're working for yourself, even the worst day can have a silver lining of basic gratitude. Gratitude for clients who keep you busy. Gratitude for the creative projects that both challenge and scare you. Gratitude for just being able to write a blog that more than your cousin's best friend's old roommate reads once in a while.

So thank you, everyone. I really mean it. You have no idea what a privilege it is to be writing these words and drawing these pictures.