【Interview】COPIC AWARD 2020 Judges: Chisato Tsumori

The fourth interview is with Ms. Chisato Tsumori, who is responsible for world-famous brands such as TSUMORI CHISATO.
Ms. Tsumori, who places great importance on inspiration, gave us her thoughts on her selection criteria, as well as a special message to Copic fans.
We also had an interview with Ms. Tsumori shortly after she was appointed as a judge for COPIC AWARD 2020. We hope you enjoy reading that interview as well!

Click here for the previous interview:【Interview】COPIC AWARD 2020 Judge: Chisato Tsumori

Interview with Chisato Tsumori

Chisato Tsumori　Fashion designer（website/Instagram） Tsumori studied fashion design at Tokyo's Bunka Fashion School. Since 1977, she has been working tirelessly as the designer for iconic brands, such as I.S. She started her own fashion-line, TSUMORI CHISATO, in 1990 and has since joined Tokyo Collection and Paris Collection. Tsumori keeps her focus on making clothes full of creativity, and her signature "fun and happy" style has been greatly appreciated all over the world.

Q: What are your thoughts after today's final judging round?

It was fun to see the entries in person. Some of the pieces were really small while some were unexpectedly big. I found it best to be able to judge the actual pieces.

Q: What criteria did you use to choose the nominations in the first round of judging?

It took me a long time to finish the first round of judging because I had to choose what I liked or what stuck with me, rather than technique or anything like that. It took me about two days to view all of the pieces, and after that, I spent another two more days narrowing down my final selections from my initial choices. Each judge uses different selection methods, but I simply made my selections based on whether I liked them or not. 
"If I were to buy some of these entries, which one would I want?" I chose entries with this in mind. It was like selecting postcards at a museum store! So, I can say I chose the nominations pretty intuitively.

Q: Please let us know your thoughts on the piece that you chose for the Judges' award.

I'm currently designing clothes with an African theme. I thought it was great fun to see a piece with a lot of animals and people eating together. I really like dreamy things, like fantasy and things that are somewhat strange and interesting. I think this artist also created this piece with that mindset.

Judge's Award (selected by Chisato Tsumori)「The unordinary restaurant」/melistncl

 

Q: What advice do you have for those who are struggling to create a piece?

Every artist has their own struggles. Even so, I believe that we grow by continuing to draw. Expressing things from your head and imagination is interesting. I have the feeling that people can grow by simply drawing more and more.

Q: Do you mean that it is important to draw a lot?

It's a fun thing to do! When I was a kid, I liked to draw. As long as you think it's fun, you should continue to draw a lot. Especially in times like now, creating art becomes essential more than ever.

Q: Please give us a few words regarding the next COPIC AWARD.

If you have already found your own path, it's okay to continue drawing a lot. How skilled you are is not so important. It's more about how you think and what colors you use. That's more important. Even if your artworks aren't that technically great, they could have a unique appeal.
The piece that I chose may not be that skilled, but I found it's very intriguing. The subject matter is slightly twisted, and that makes it incredibly appealing.
There was another wonderful piece that shows landscape spreading out from a character's skirt... I didn't select it as a winner, though. All kinds of things appear on a skirt, and I liked that one a lot. I still don't know if it's a fantasy world or just a stitched pattern on a skirt. I like pieces that puzzle me. 
Creating art is interesting because you can expand your ideas as much as you want.

We appreciate Chisato Tsumori taking the time to talk to us.