Tazuo Yamaguchi

Tazuo Yamaguchi has been inspiring, entertaining, educating, and empowering folks of all ages worldwide for over two decades. Through performance poetry, visual storytelling, illustration, painting, and multimedia digital arts. He applies the power of the media and fine arts as a vehicle of learning integrated into the education process to develop self-awareness and empowerment knowledge in his students. 

Tazuo is an old-school poetry slam champion and a published award-winning performance poet. A two-time world head-to-head haiku champion who hosted the international competition for ten years. He has shared the stage with Gary Snyder, Sonia Sanchez, Saul Williams, Wanda Coleman, Sherman Alexis, Nanao Sakaki, and many poetry slam legends/champions and master poets. He holds a bachelor’s in media arts and a master’s in education with an emphasis on integrating technology and the fine arts within the California State Art Guidelines.

Known as IPaintCreatures (aka IPC) on the internet (e.g., TwitchTV), Tazuo is an advanced fantastical painter, illustrator, and animator who has worked with George Lucas, Apple, and many high tech creative franchises. He specializes in concept creature design for the entertainment industry and integrates it into his educational workshops. Publishes children’s books on amazon and released a 90-page book of his paintings, drawings, poems, and stories called a symphony.  

Tazuo lost his father at an early age and then overcame a life-threatening illness at age eleven. “The arts have always been a way for me to apply creativity and express my imagination to overcome adversity and childhood trauma.”

Tazuo offers an artistic experience that uses performance poetry, visual storytelling, and the application of media arts as vehicles for learning and empowerment. Through the creation, performance, and publishing of their own mythology, students acquire self-knowledge and awareness, providing them essential life skills to work through adversity and any of life’s challenges. 

Videos