ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – Artists with Creative Clay share interests, art and inspiration with artists in Japan through “Artlink Takamatsu.”
“Art is such an amazing universal language, so even though they don’t speak the same language, they’re still able to communicate,” Creative Clay Artlink Manager Ashton Sanchez.
Creative Clay is a nonprofit with the goal of empowering people with disabilities through art experiences. “Artlink Takamatsu” connects 10 artists with 10 from a similar program in Takamatsu, Japan called Heart Art Link.
The artists have been trading mail, videos and even music with each other since the pen-pal program began in 2024.
What they’re saying:
“It started with a description of their interests as well as visual arts, and then they chose whether they wanted to add on top of our students’ work or design something completely new based off of what they were inspired by,” Sanchez explained.
Creative Clay artists Ashton Thomas and Marquise Russ have both been part of the program since the beginning. Thomas and his partner’s piece features an intricate landscape of Japan.
“For this piece, I took inspiration from Japan’s places, and then I combined them and I used inspiration from my imaginative expression,” Thomas said.Â
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Thomas created much of his part with Sharpies, while his partner added watercolor.Â
“I get very passionate with how I do the details of my art because it gives more character and I just enjoy doing it,” Thomas said.
Russ’s piece features a collage of characters that he likes to use in multiple pieces. They worked back and forth on the piece. Sanchez hopes the interactions help artists on both sides of the world grow.Â
“I hope they see the amazing interaction between our two cultures blending and how much power it’s given to all of our students with disabilities to be able to express themselves through the arts,” Sanchez said. “Our mission at Creative Clay is to make the arts accessible for all individuals, and to see each of our students grow in confidence and artistic style based off of the cultural friendships they’ve made have been really powerful.”
The “Artlink Takamatsu Mail Art Show” was on display at the Morean Arts Center from October 4-22.
What’s next:
It will next be displayed at Creative Clay’s “Good Folk Fest” on November 16.
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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Barry Wong.