Densho Digital Archive - Henry Fukuhara Interview II (denshovh-fhenry-02-0008)

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MN: After you left Manzanar and you restarted your life, how long was it before you were able to return to your art?

HF: [Pauses] I don't remember how long. But over in Cutsarc, Long Island, there was sort of a meeting of artists. A woman by the name of Jacqueline Petty was there, and she knew that I had been doing watercolors. So she came to me, she saw me, and she came to me and said, "I'd like to have you do a demonstration for me." And I says, "I've never done any demonstration, I only did painting for myself." And then the next thing she said, "Well, I want you do a workshop for me at my Red Barn Studio." "Well, I haven't done that either." She says, "Well, you could do it." So I said, "Well, if you think I could do it, I'll try it."

MN: Do you think this was in the 1970s? Is it earlier?

HF: [Pauses] That could have been.

MN: So while you were still doing, growing flowers at Deer Park, you were still painting? Is that the... I'm getting that impression that you still were painting.

HF: When I was... I was in partner with two brothers (George & Willie) at Deer Park. So I did the demonstration in a place called New Suffolk. It's a small marina where they went fishing, boating. And they were, Jackie sat at the table, and some, few people came to observe what I was going to do. I think there was a couple named the Hardys, H-A-R-D-Y-S, Hardys, and they were there, which I was surprised to see. Well, I was not really surprised because she must have told them that I was going to be there. The Hardys, the Long Island Press on Fridays had a listing. It was their art page, and they had a listing of all the different artists that had exhibits.

MN: And the Hardys, were they, they were the reviewers?

HF: The Hardys, they must have checked the paper and came to see who was showing where. And the LA Times... not the LA Times, the New York Times also on Friday had their art page, and they would have the artists that they were having their exhibit at the gallery. But in New York, they had these receptions in New York, but their receptions were patrons' receptions, customers of theirs, that had bought paintings from them. So the Hardys were there, and by opening day... during the, at the reception, everybody was very pleased with what I, what I had done.