A blog written by Ashton Will, the art teacher and graphic designer of The Consulting Arts. This blog will detail several aspects of his semester abroad studying in Japan weekly, including art he has created and seen, observations about Japanese society in the community, and his own interactions with Japanese culture. This is an ongoing project for Ashton as a Gilman Scholar and a Gray Fund for International Study scholarship recipient, functioning as a give-back service project.
Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture, which is to the east of Osaka and south of Kyoto. As one of the notable cities in the Kansai region, I knew I wanted to visit.
Artist: Ashton Leigh Will
Show: South Gallery, Armistead-Pace Building, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia
Dates: May 19-26, 2023
Media: Plexiglass printing, 3-D printing, dry point (monochromatic and multi-colored), trace monotype, colograph printing, digital art, and photography
Video Overview by the Artist 🎦
Emphases: Character Design, Japan
This art show serves as a capstone for his Asian studies, studio art, his study abroad and his personal interest in manga. It is additionally an outcome component of his Gilman Scholarship (US Department of State program).
Artist's statement:
Colors of Japan
When I was in Japan to study abroad, I was awed by the sights I was able to view, both in nature and among urban environments. I wanted to bring some of those views to life in conjunction with my character designs. I've been practicing character design for over 7 years, mainly with characters from my original series, Colors. I also wanted to combine that experience with a new medium that I have drawn a lot of inspiration from in printmaking. This is a show about progression- my progression in drawing the human body, the progression of how art evolved in Japan when manga was inspired by ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and the progression of time itself.
Artwork shown above: Nara, Ashton Leigh Will, ©️2023
Characters from Ashton's upcoming graphic novel Colors are featured in this art show, shown in settings from Okinawa, Osaka, Nara and Tokyo, Japan.
For this article, I'll let the photos do the talking. It's a whale of a tale!
424 Ishikawa, Motobu, Kunigami District, Okinawa 905-0206, Japan; website: https://churaumi.okinawa/sp/
I made Udon (from scratch). Miso, soy sauce, mirin, seaweed, green onion. Nothing fancy, just quick.
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Cooking date: 12/5/2022
Osaka Castle is a major Japanese landmark situated in Osaka city, surrounded by a series of defensive fortifications and moats in the center of a huge park. It's a notable fixture of one of the more modern cities in Japan, and helps bring Osaka to life with its rich history and culture.
One of the things I was looking forward to doing most while in Osaka prefecture was visiting Universal Studios Japan, or USJ for short. I had heard great things specifically about Super Nintendo World, which at that point was a park exclusive to Japan.
The Umeda Sky Building is a skyscraper in the Umeda district of Kita-ku ward in Osaka. It's one of the tallest buildings in Osaka- each of the two towers have 40 floors, and stand at a height of 170 meters. It has a striking appearance, with an escalator leading up to an observatory that connects the two buildings at the top.
I visited Nipponbashi as part of a field trip led by local Kansai Gaidai students. It is known as the "Akihabara of Osaka": a mecca for all things anime, manga, video games, and other interests attributed to otaku.
I'm sure most people have heard of Pokémon- it's the highest grossing and arguably most well-known media franchise of all time. I've been a fan of the series for nearly 15 years, and its popularity is only exacerbated in Japan.
Kansai Gaidai University's fall break gave me time to see my cousin in Okinawa. Okinawa is the fifth largest island of Japan, separate from the 4 largest islands that make up the bulk of the country, so I took my first flight since touching down in Japan to reach it.
Kyoto is one of Japan's major cultural hubs, housing a variety of buildings and experiences centered around providing a look into traditional Japan. In addition, several of the countries most famous Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples are located there, including Kiyomizu-dera (Pure Water Temple) and Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple). However, on my first day exploring the city, I instead opted to go shopping.
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