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Jon Lew found out about the earthquake in Japan from Twitter. The artist and owner of Fortune Cookie Tattoo has visited the country a few times and always felt what he describes as a “spiritual connection” to it. So when he saw his friend in Japan, tattoo artist Hori Benny, posting about the devastating earthquake online, he decided to take action.
“My tattoo shop donated 10 percent of our proceeds the weekend that it happened, but I really felt like I wanted to do more to help out,” explains Lew. “I felt like I could do more.” The result was the heARTs to Japan benefit.
Lew put out an open call to artists to donate their work, and has received submissions from all over the world. Those pieces, including original Japan-inspired work from Lew, Tomas Archuleta, Jack Jensen and many more, will be auctioned off at the event. And for those who can’t afford original art but still want to help, prints, T-shirts, Japanese treats like mochi and cupcakes from the Shoppe will be available for purchase. All proceeds will go directly to the Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple, which will forward them to its mother temple in Kyoto to help those affected by the disaster.
“As an artist, the Japanese influence in my art and a lot of my friends’ art is huge; it’s profound,” says Lew. “I really wanted to do something to try to give back to them as much as I could.” The benefit art auction will take place at INDYINK, 84 South Broadway, tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. For more information, call 720-937-9722 or visit www.indyink.com.
Fri., April 29, 7-10 p.m., 2011
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