Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Yamashita.
Hi Ryan, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
My resin art journey started during lockdowns in 2020. I was having a hard time with being disconnected from all the surf orgs and communities that I normally volunteered with and was looking for a new project to help me fill my time. For a while, I had been seeing resin art surfboards pop up on my Instagram Explore feed and became fascinated with the art form.
On December 10, 2020, I finally had the chance to take a virtual beginner’s course that came complete with a starter kit! After sharing some videos to my Instagram stories, I immediately began to have friends reach out and ask if I was making pieces to sell. From there… the rest was history.
I formally went ahead and launched my small business in January 2021 as “RY Ocean Resin Art”. I first started off with making coaster sets and speed bottle openers, which during lockdowns, drinkware and accessories were a huge hit. As time progressed, I then began to take on more orders and became immersed in an online resin art community known as The Maker Meetup by MAS Epoxies.
The Maker Meetup had four big influencers within the industry that would host weekly YouTube lives, provide tips for small art businesses and entrepreneurs. This was fundamental in helping me build my foundation, as well as feel connected again with an amazing maker/artist community.
Flash forward to 2022, and this has been hands down one of the most fulfilling years yet. When I first started pouring, I set out with the goal to make bigger surfboard pieces to help raise funds for some of my favorite orgs including: Surfrider LA, Life Rolls On, Boards for Bros, and my alma mater Loyola Marymount University (LMU). I’m happy to share that as of last month (October), I have now made boards for all four orgs raising over $2,500 in funds to help keep our beaches clean, offer adaptive sports clinics, teach underprivileged youth how to skate, and support LMU’s Art Therapy program.
I’m excited to see how else I can continue to leverage my art to help positively impact the communities around me. Follow my art journey with me on Instagram at @ry.oceanresinart!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Thankfully, this has been a super fun journey, with extremely supportive people around me. It’s been a fairly smooth learning curve with a lot of fun opportunities to make cool pieces for others.
If I did have to pick something though, I’d say the toughest part was finally gearing up to file business taxes for the first time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
RY Ocean Resin Art is a passion project of mine, helping bring pieces of the ocean to others and raising funds for the orgs that are near and dear to me.
I specialize in using epoxy resin to pour glassy, ocean-like seascapes, making everything from coasters, to bottle openers, to surfboards, and other functional, wall art pieces.
A portion of every sale goes directly towards supporting the Surfrider Foundation, and our mission of being “dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches”. I’ve had the honor of being called “The Maker Mayor” within The Maker Meetup community, and love connecting with and supporting other makers and artists.
If you have any questions about how I got started, I’m happy to share the vendors that I work with and see how I can help with your journey (DM @ry.oceanresinart)!
What were you like growing up?
I was very fortunate to have gotten to grow up in the South Bay, learning how to surf, skate, and snowboard at a very young age. I had the opportunity to immerse myself more outdoors through the Boy Scouts, making my way to my Eagle Scout rank. All of these factors played a major role in developing my confidence, friendships, and the person I am today.
With that, I strive to find opportunities to share the outdoors with others and offer the same kind of community and healing that it has provided and continues to provide me through orgs like Youth Mentoring Connection, Surfrider LA, Life Rolls On, and Boards for Bros.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RYOceanResinArt
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ry.oceanresinart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ry.oceanresinart
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@ry.oceanresinart
