"This is the Zao Fox Village, in Miyagi, Japan," she said, cleaning her brush and laying it alongside other brushes, arranged according to size. Besides the palette of watercolors, she also had a dish of black sumi ink. Many of her works featured foxes, some peering through foliage; others with multiple tails, conjuring orbs of pale blue flame.

"I've never been here--there--in person, but I always thought it might be nice to visit."