Wacom's Social Initiatives are driven by the sparks ignited by our team members, which is the reason why we work at Wacom.
In the “Our Sparks.” pages, we introduced the works created by creators in our community whose sparks are felt by those who work together with Wacom. Your sparks are a major contribution to what keeps us motivated and helps us seek out new challenges.
This time around, we would like to introduce a piece of artwork by Arian Rahmatzai from Germany, who did a five-day internship at Wacom in Tokyo. She joined the exchange program by Studienwerk für Deutsch-Japanischen Kulturaustausch in NRW e.V. (Foundation for German-Japanese Cultural Exchange) and stayed in Japan for a month.
The theme for the artwork is the “Japan” that she experienced and “Back to the forest,” the latter of which was also the theme for Connected Ink 2023. With these two different topics to work with, she wove together her experience in Japan and turned it into a piece of art.
Title: Join The Journey Artist: Arian Rahmatzai
About the artwork: Take the risk and embark on a journey into the unknown.
For my internship assignment, I created a piece of art that explored the themes of "Japan" and "Back to the Forest." While I was thinking about how to tie these two different topics together, I was reminded of the bamboo forests I had visited just a few days earlier in Kyoto, Japan. The bamboo forests were so beautiful and endless, it was like a boundless sea of green. I decided to draw that impressive landscape as the background of my artwork.
I visited many parts of Japan on the Japan Exchange Program and I was especially inspired by my trip to Kyoto. The shrines and temples that can be seen throughout the city are truly remarkable. The character holding out her hand, as if inviting you into a beautiful bamboo forest, is inspired by a shrine maiden. On the advice of a team member at Wacom, I incorporated elements resembling a white fox into her hair, creating a character who lives in the forest. I enjoyed the process of drawing the hair and had a great time bringing this piece to life.
About the artist: Born in Bonn, Germany, Arian works as a project manager for Dokomi, the largest anime and manga convention in Germany, while also pursuing her passion as an artist. Her artistic journey began after watching "Sailor Moon," as a child and her favorite subjects to draw are charming characters and birds. She is a fervent admirer of Japanese anime and manga, especially those with poignant narratives.
Her favorite creative tool to work with is the Cintiq Companion2, allowing her the flexibility to draw wherever and whenever inspiration strikes. Currently in search of a new display pen tablet, she worked with a Wacom Cintiq Pro 22 and a Wacom One 13 Touch to create this piece of art.
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The 'Our Sparks.' pages showcases community creators whose works inspire and collaborate with us. This time features Arian Rahmatzai's artwork, a German talent who interned at Wacom.
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Read MoreWe would like to introduce the artworks by artists in Oiso Town, Kanagawa, Japan, where we have been working together to support the writing/drawing initiative.
Read MoreThe partnership with Oiso Town has developed into a city-wide initiative. We spoke with Tadakuni Tsubota of the Creative BU Retail Partnership about this initiative.
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Here’s a look back at the opening and finale of the nearly 70 sessions held that day and reflect upon what has happened since Connected Ink 2021.
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Our sparks meet constantly changing situations, unexpected challenges, and new opportunities. We called on our team members again to show how they see their spark in the world of today and the future.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
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We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
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KOPPA began in April 2019. Tamotsu wanted to make something that can be used again after an exhibition. We asked Team KOPPA about their thoughts.
We put it together ourselves, set it up, put it back, then travel together again. The Traveling KOPPA, our new display furniture came to be.
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We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
We gave a marketing lecture for students who are learning to be engineers at the National Institute of Technology Tokyo College.
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Yoana Simeonova, a software designer working in Bulgaria, introduced Wacom Intuos in a school to make children's IT classes more fun.