Satsuki Shibuya has her hand in all of the pots. When I initially reached out to her for an interview in March, I had no idea it was just days before she gave birth to her first daughter, and yet, she still responded. It’s hard to put a label on someone who is so talented in so many areas, but I guess that’s why labels are outdated. Satsuki is so many things, and yet completely, entirely Satsuki. There’s no one else like her. I’m so grateful we were able to interview her after she settled into motherhood. If you’re in need of some creative or spiritual inspiration, please read on.

Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself?

My name is Satsuki Shibuya. I am a spiritual thinker, artist and poet, born and raised in Los Angeles, and second-generation Japanese-American.

You just had a new baby, congratulations! How has motherhood been for you?

It’s been the most exhilarating and toughest experiences I’ve had in my life thus far. I was never one of those women who thought they were meant for motherhood. To the contrary, I actually never saw myself having children nor had the desire to be a mother. But, I thank my daughter each day for choosing me to be her mom, for giving me the experience of motherhood, for my husband who helps make it such a rewarding experience and for my parents who never pushed, but always suggested how much I would most likely enjoy having a child. It has opened my eyes up to a completely different world and pushed me to places I never knew existed inside. There is something primal about birthing a child, something ignited creatively when going through the process, and eye-opening when going from focusing on oneself to all eyes on another human being. I see it affecting my artwork, the way I think, my outlook on life—everything. She is my little zen teacher and also my ray of sunshine. I can’t imagine life without her and going through all of this together with my husband.

photo by Carmen Chan

We are such big fans of all of your work here at Glitter Guide. How would you describe your particular style of art?

Thank you so very much for your support and love. I truly am humbled to hear so. I never set out to create art in a particular style, and I never saw myself ever becoming a fine artist. It was never my interest. I always saw myself more as a designer or musician as those were the subjects I studied while in college, but suddenly thrust unexpectedly into painting. When I started to hear from those around me of their views on the type of work I was creating, that’s the first time I realized I had a particular “style.” People kept saying how they could recognize my work from a mile away, but I never saw that. I couldn’t understand what they were “seeing” until quite recently, actually. It is similar to what I think of in terms of someone’s aesthetic style. It feels connected to everything they do—the color palette they choose for their outfits, the type of food they love to eat, the way they talk. It all is interconnected. I believe this is true for my “style” as well. The colors I love using on my paintings correlate with my love of more natural materials in the home to aligning with cooking more simpler, less complex meals that take into consideration the flavors of the ingredients versus heavily flavoring them with sauces.

My style? Intuitive energetic painting. Not sure if that’s a style, but it is what I feel when I’m painting. It’s very intuitive. I paint energy. Whatever comes through my brush is what is on the paper. Some people have said it reminds them of Sumi-e, others, of Helen Frankenthaler, but I would say it’s somewhere between abstract expressionist and minimalism if we wanted to talk more technically. Otherwise, I don’t particularly adhere to a certain way of painting as I continue to let whatever comes through develop. It may change one day to something else, but ultimately, I do think it will continue to be driven by spirit and intuition.

You are also an incredibly beautiful writer. Where do you find the inspiration for your pieces?

Thank you, again. It is something that I’ve felt self-conscious about for a very long time growing up. I’ve always loved writing, but after a high school creative writing teacher told me I had no talent in writing, I felt completely humiliated and shut the door on it for a decade. When I started to read books (something I’ve never enjoyed until suggested by a psychologist who I went to go see after becoming ill), I began to awaken to the beauty of writing once again. I began to connect back to my spiritual self that I had completely hidden since I was young because I was being told by adults around me that I should not be saying strange things when I would see more sense beyond the physical world. But when I began to look deeper into the roots of these, I started to download messages from the universe and at first it came as quotes and before I knew it they were sentences and eventually has become the type of poetry that I write today. The inspiration for writing comes from a combination of the way that I see the world beyond the physical and the universal downloads that I get when I transcribe them.

Are there any of your written works in particular that hold a special place in your heart?

I think the quote that started it all is the one that still continues to be something that I hold near and dear to my heart, and it is, “By doing what you love, you inspire and awaken the hearts of others.” In a world where we are constantly being told to do something and be someone, I found that that was exactly what at least for myself made me very ill. Through it all, from what I’ve experienced and felt, I realized that naturally as humans we are drawn to those who are living the truth and being who they are unashamed and freely. And this quote came to me from the universe doing a meditation when I was searching for direction and wanting to find what it is that spoke to me and doing something that makes me happy, and in return, hoping that I can be of service to others.

Can you tell us about your podcast? What motivated you to start it?

Sure! It began after my daughter was born, when I literally had no time to myself, let alone eating or even washing up or taking a shower. Even through that, I had a very, very strong desire to want to create, but not so much creating in terms of painting because there wasn’t even time to do that, but to create for the universe. I felt strongly that I needed to share the messages that I was receiving at the time because even during my difficulties and lack of sleep and just being pushed over the edge over and over and being pushed to the limits, I was receiving very strong messages and images from the universe and I knew that I needed to get that out and share it with others. The voice has a vibrational frequency that is very unique to each individual. It’s as if it’s a fingerprint and I felt that it was the best way for me to be able to share and express the messages I was receiving. A lot of times these messages don’t come in words but they come in images or symbols or feelings or visuals or something that is not necessarily in words. I felt that through a podcast, I can use the words.

The podcast includes downloads from the universe any time I receive them. There is no set schedule. Sometimes they come in troves and other times I could get nothing for a while and I just have a backlog of them and release them as soon as I can edit them, which is usually the part that takes the longest. There are usually messages pertaining to life the spirit and everything that is in between.

In a world where we are constantly being told to do something and be someone, I found that that was exactly what at least for myself made me very ill. Through it all, from what I’ve experienced and felt, I realize that naturally as humans we are drawn to those who are living the truth and being who they are unashamed and freely.

photo by Nitsa Citrine & Tasya van Ree

How has it been juggling motherhood and your creative projects?

It honestly has been difficult because I have a very strong creative and spiritual drive, and it’s difficult to find the balance between living on this earth and doing the physical necessities of everyday life in a very constraint timeframe. This is not my forte, I’ve come to realize, through becoming a mother but at the same time it’s so rewarding to be able to plant both feet into the ground of the earth and to be in the moment. When you have a baby, you have to be there in that moment or you’ll miss it. You are called to be there and be present. Creating, for me, is a very spiritual universal freedom. I lose track of time and it’s something that speaks directly to my spirit. When I’m in the space, it’s hard for me to get back into reality sometimes. So it’s been a learning curve to understand the switch between the part of me that is very natural flowing and internal and creative, and the part of motherhood that is very much in the NOW field. It’s love and being in the moment that I equate to motherhood as waking meditation because you’re in that moment but at the same time you are very present.

I’m starting to slowly find pockets of opportunities where I can switch into the creative side of myself and be able to create, but again, the switch takes time for me as well. I can’t just go from changing a diaper to picking up a paintbrush. I wish I could, but unfortunately, I’m not wired that way. I need to be able to have some cushioning between the two, I guess. So trying to shorten that timeframe of being able to do the switch has also been something that I’m learning as well. But I wouldn’t trade anything for the world and I love being a mother and I think that through this experience it has exponentially created a gateway to creativity. The energy and the source where it comes from helps me feel stronger and more clearly than I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to channel it, but at the same time, also what I love about motherhood is that it has taught me to focus and how to really savor each second. Also, to embrace the primal instinctive power that we all have within us as humans and to really enjoy each moment of what we are doing. I always thought that I did but after becoming a mother, it has heightened this awareness.

Also, my spiritual intuitive self has also awaken to another level that I never knew was possible. So, all of these things, as difficult as it has been to make the shift, I also am deeply grateful to have become a mother because without this, I would’ve never discovered the things that I’ve since discovered from the experience.

photo by Carmen Chan

Do you have any tips for aspiring creatives or new mothers who are feeling overtired and uninspired?

Yes! I read many books on painting—one painting a day or how to do this or that—and I realize that we are such individuals. For some it might work, but for many, it’s looking into different ways that other people have done things and try them out to see what works. Keep the things that work, and for things that don’t, create a system or a way of creating that works for your own soul. As for myself, I feel more pressure and I create less work when I’m actually approaching it more as a job or needing to fulfill a quota like painting one painting a day or something like that. For me, I allow myself the space to be able to meander, and some days, I don’t create anything at all. Even though I may want to, there just might not be enough energy inside me to do it and I give myself grace to know that the time will come when I’m able to do it and until then, I just have to be patient.

I used to feel that I’m falling behind if I don’t make work at a certain pace or speed. Now, I’ve become very clear on how I want to be creating art and how I want to be participating on this planet and what my criteria is for being a creative. I make sure that I’m aligning to that instead of outside forces seeing what it is that I need to be doing in order to call myself an artist or creative. I think the hardest part was not even so much what others were saying that I needed to do but more of what I felt I needed to do to keep my identity, which is strange because at the end of the day, our identity is whatever we choose to align to and it doesn’t necessarily have to do with anything that we do. So, for aspiring creatives or new mothers out there who are overtired and uninspired, I would say embrace that and know that it’s part of the process as well. There are moments where inspiration will come and there are moments where you will not be able to do anything creative and just get frustrated and that all is part of it as well and that’s OK. What I’ve also realized is that the time will come that creation is possible, and as with all things, I think of it in seasons. Looking back now, sometimes the season is not in creating but it’s in focusing on what’s in front of us at the moment. Other times, it is the season to create and we have time to be able to express ourselves. I think patience is more important than anything to be able to embrace the changes that come with over-tiredness and being uninspired.

I think it’s important for us to not forget that being creative or creating never really goes away. As long as we continue to want it in our lives, there will always be opportunities to do it and possibly ways that might be different from what we had envisioned. It’s important to be OK with moving in different directions that work for us at the time in real life and know that a lot of these things take time to build and they go in incremental steps. I may feel very slow, but on the flip side, slow is not such a bad thing because it allows us to savor and appreciate each step that we take in order to make what we envision be fulfilled.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Since my daughter was born in March, my typical day has changed drastically. I’m sure other mamas out there could attest to this, but you can never really be fully ready to know what to expect. So now my typical day starts off waking up around 6 a.m. and if my daughter is able to sleep in, I quickly wash up and start my daily yoga practice. Then I begin house chores, eat breakfast and feed our dog. By this point, it’s my daughter’s nap time, so after she goes down for her first nap, I am either finishing up the rest of my yoga practice, meditating or if I was able to complete these things, I have some time to read or to do a little bit of work. Recently, I try to use her nap time for moments for myself to be able to do things that I am wanting to do. Then after she wakes up, I begin to prepare ingredients for dinner, prepare ingredients for lunch, prep ingredients for breakfast and lunch the next day, and by that point, it’ll be time for her second nap. During this time, I try to enjoy some down time and take a little catnip myself, as I believe in trying to keep the balance.

After she wakes up from this nap, I slowly begin to prepare each dish for dinner, finish up daily house chores, have a afternoon snack and get ready for my daughter’s last nap of the day. It’s during her last nap of the day that I’m usually finishing up cooking dinner and possibly eating. Then it’s a mad rush to the finish line or so it feels like sometimes to get the house ready for the next day, finish up dinner and dishes and before I know it, it’s time for bed for her. After she goes to sleep, this is usually when I’m able to take more time for self-care to wind down and prepare for the next day. I am a religious user of the app Todoist, so I figure out what I need to do for the following day and week so I have a good idea of what’s happening and then I either shower or take the time to relax and do things that I enjoy like watching Japanese comedy shows or reading. Or, if I had not been able to do yoga early in the day, this is the time I would finish my yoga practice and hang out with my husband. As much as I love being a mom and taking care of the family, I still am an individual and want to honor my own self. It’s the time of self-reflection and also self-connection. If I have energy, I work on some painting, writing, podcasting or something creative. I’m usually in bed by 10 p.m., lately.

I’ve become very clear on how I want to be creating art and how I want to be participating on this planet and what my criteria is for being a creative. I make sure that I’m aligning to that instead of outside forces seeing what it is that I need to be doing in order to call myself an artist or creative.

photo by Carmen Chan

Do you have any self-care rituals that you swear by?

Meditation, yoga, eating right, finding what works with my body and finding a way to pace myself. Over the years, I’ve noticed that because of its sensitivity, anything that does not align with it (whether it’s spiritually, physically, mentally, or emotionally), it quickly drains. I make sure that I eat foods that align with what makes me feel well and find the right skincare or haircare. Things that just feel right is all part of self-care in my opinion. I really think having a healthy balance between the different elements in our lives and finding and fine-tuning these elements exponentially makes a difference in the way that we function overall. I tend to think of self-care now more as a part of the everyday versus something special. For example, instead of putting time aside to do self-care, it’s integrated into what I’m doing. Right now, I’m being very selective of what I’m putting on or in my body and finding that certain ingredients are key to making me feel well. I continue to do this with my art practice or with my everyday life of finding ways to align different things so that it’s not necessary to put time aside to do it but that it is already part of life.

You originally got your creative start in music. Are you still musical today?

I definitely am strongly influenced by music especially noticing it rapidly changes my energy and spirits, but also when I’m painting in the studio or even before going into the studio to paint, listening to certain types of music makes my energy shift. I wish I could say that I’m still musical today but unfortunately, I have not touched the piano in years (it was the first instrument that I started with and maybe one day I can go back to it as a hobby).

You are a spiritual thinker. Can you explain more about what that means to our readers?

I like to think of it as something between someone who is able to tune into the universe or in a sense see between the lines of the physical and energetic world, but also to be able to decipher the messages of the universe and deliver it in a way that is comprehensible and so that others can connect to it. Some may think of it in terms of a philosopher or possibly a guru, but to me personally, it is to be able to connect the dots between these different realms. With the caveat being, what is shared is to ultimately help with the elevation of the earth’s energetic level (meaning that it helps to awaken those who may be dormant, those who are seeking the light or simply to be a conduit for spiritual change).

Do you like to read? What are some of your favorite books?

I love reading. There are so many favorites, but some that come to mind are: The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy by John Brehm, Personal Power Through Awareness: A Guidebook for Sensitive People by Sanaya Roman, Blessed Are the Weird: A Manifesto for Creatives by Jacob Nordby, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, Letting Go: The Pathway to Surrender by David R. Hawkins, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman, Frequency: The Power of Personal Vibration by Penney Peirce, and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle.

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