Enjoying Art with the Artist — Spring 2026
On May 20, the Student Support Center at Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) held the "Enjoying Art with the Artist: Spring 2026" at the Yokohama Campus.
Held twice a year in spring and autumn, this seminar aims to help students draw inspiration from the arts and develop their own creative expression. Conducted in both English and Japanese, the event brought together a diverse group of 17 participants (6 international and 11 Japanese students) to explore the world of art.
The session focused on the influential artist Wassily Kandinsky. The program consisted of two main parts:
Lecture: Students learned about the "power of color" through an exploration of Kandinsky’s life and signature works.
Workshop: Participants engaged in a hands-on practical session, using pencils and watercolors to create their own artistic expressions.
Instructor — Artist Zuse Meyer
The seminar was led by Zuse Meyer, a painter and poet who is also a lecturer at Science Tokyo. Meyer currently creates artwork in both Berlin and Tokyo, hosting original art workshops and art classes. She is a graduate of the Berlin University of the Arts.
Lecture
We explored the life of Wassily Kandinsky, one of Europe’s most innovative and creative artists. By reflecting on his quotes in both English and Japanese while viewing projections of his work, we learned how his new vision of form and color changed the art of the 20th century.
Practical Exercises
In this seminar, three practical drawing sessions were conducted. As participants worked on their pieces, Meyer provided thoughtful feedback on each drawing, creating a warm and relaxed atmosphere throughout the event.
1. Continuous Line Drawing with Pencil
For the first exercise, participants created "one-line" drawings on drawing paper using pencils while observing images projected on the screen.
2. Watercolor Painting
The next task involved painting with watercolors. While still referencing the images on the screen, participants were encouraged to use their own expressive colors based on the inspiration they drew from the art. Even though everyone looked at the same reference, the resulting works vividly reflected each participant’s unique personality.
3. Drawing with the Non-Dominant Hand
The final challenge was to draw using our non-dominant hand. The goal of using the hand we don't typically use is to bypass conscious thought and tap into our raw, intuitive sensibilities.
Comments from the participants
- I enjoy making the different works a lot; they were nice break from my study and I feel more relaxed now.
- The teacher's personality was wonderful, and it made me want to join again.
- It was fascinating to see how others perceived things differently.
- Even though the artwork came from within me, I found the result surprisingly interesting.
- I don’t usually get many chances to paint, so I had a great time.
- I really enjoyed the hands-on experience of creating so much art myself.
- I liked the balance between educational lecture and creative hands-on work. I appreciated the lecturer walking around giving advice and just interacting with the participants. I also enjoyed looking at other people’s work. It felt well planned and an enjoyable experience!
The next 'Enjoying Art with the Artist' seminar is scheduled to be held at Ookayama Campus in November.