Artist Anna Wise said she was moved to tears when an illustration she did as part of a new exhibit called, The Inexpressible Contained, sold.
She did two watercolor paintings, her interpretations of two anonymous unsent letters, the basis for the exhibit running now until Jan. 31, 2026, at ClearStory Arts.
Thirteen local artists were selected to create original works inspired by anonymous unsent letters collected during a series of mailbox pop-ups across the city. Participating artists selected one or two anonymous letters and produced original artworks in response to the words that were transcribed into digital prints on white stationary paper.
The letters recounted poignant stories of grief, love, hope, fear, anger, loneliness, and every full range of emotions imaginable. Each artist took these raw emotions and brought them to life.
Art Producer Bonnie Blue Edwards said her friend Sofia Kavlin came up with the concept in New York. “I went to an unsent letter mailbox she started,” Edwards said. “She did pop-ups at Washington Square Park and Thompson Square Park about two years ago.”
Edwards, an Alabama native who also lived in New York but lately has spent more time in Chattanooga said Kaplan asked her to illustrate an unsent letter.
“That challenge for myself was really rewarding,” she said.” At the time I was here working on some commercial projects but interested in perhaps doing a gallery exhibit of my illustration work as a challenge to myself.”
Edwards said she visited several local galleries and connected with the mission and the space of ClearStory Arts. After meeting Executive Director Elle Quesenberry Edwards said she wanted to bring the unsent letter concept to the city on a much larger scale.
Quesenberry thought it was a great idea, so did Kavlin. “Sofia was down for the idea, and I was really grateful that she was keen to support the idea,” Edwards said.
Edwards said they received more than 100 letters, and 35 artists submitted their work. Thirteen were selected for the exhibit, including Anna Wise. She had picked two anonymous letters to illustrate, one about the rainy season in August and another about forgiveness which she entitled, Shadows.
On the evening of Jan. 2, 2026, during the opening reception, the writer of the forgiveness letter was so moved by Wise’s interpretations, she revealed the letter was hers and bought the watercolor.
“I cried,” Wise said. “It meant a lot. I’ve never met her. I'm going to meet her at closing night. When I read her letter, I was like, oh my gosh, I’ve got to create a painting of this because I related to it so much. It’s someone that I’ve never even met before, that I sort of felt a kindred spirit connection with and then that they felt that too when they looked at my art piece, it was symbiotic.”
Wise is also an Alabama native and bounces between Nashville and Chattanooga. The mostly self-taught artist started drawing at the age of two. She said the author’s letter about forgiveness resonated with her.
“I could relate to how the author felt,” she said. “She had given and given and given of herself and she felt like she was in the shadows oftentimes. But she forgave the people who had taken advantage of her, and she chose to simply look at what she gave as a gift. She wasn't going to expect anything in return and her final gift was forgiveness. And I wanted to capture a silhouette, someone who was in the shadows but also someone who immediately pulls you in and feels very magnetic and oftentimes, we might feel invisible, but we don't know we just don't know the impact that we're making.”
Inside the main gallery the letters hang on the wall. A small desk is set up allowing visitors to write their own letter anonymously. The art varies in modalities like paintings, mosaics, ceramics, fiber arts and even a full-size puppet.
Quesenberry, a Milledgeville, GA native and poet, walked me around the gallery and studios. She explained how ClearStory Arts was born out of necessity.
“Back in 2020 a group of artists were told to leave their current workspace,” she said. “They found this building and approached a development company and convinced them, somehow, to build out 40 studios in a gallery space here in this old factory building.”
She said the building was built in 1925 and was a yarn dyeing warehouse and later a men’s hosiery company that closed in 1975. The main gallery is 1,800 square feet. ClearStory Arts has 40 studios used by a variety of different artists practicing different modalities.
“We have a back gallery that's about 300 feet of wall space,” she said. “We have a maker’s space where you can be a member, and we have a classroom where we teach different art classes and have community events.”
Edwards encourages the community to join them for three upcoming events to showcase the exhibit.
“We’re doing an open gallery on Saturday Jan. 17, 2026, from 2-5 p.m.,” she said. “We will have a mask making play shop as artist TJ Hanretta calls them. She's the puppetry artist who has a piece in the show. So, she'll be providing that class to engage in the art. And on Monday Jan. 26, from 6- 8 p.m. we're doing an industry night. Art enthusiasts in the food and beverage industry, who aren't typically able to come to visit on a weekend can join us. We'll have beer and wine and that is perhaps a good time to do another live microphone element.”
They will also host their closing reception on Jan. 31, 2026, from 2-5 p.m.
Edwards explained how visitors got an opportunity to read some of the anonymous letters to guests during the opening reception. She hopes to be able to give others a chance to read more letters.
“That was a beautiful way to expand upon the letters and the power of the words and people connecting with them,” she said. “It's all about the connection.”
To visit the gallery, book a tour online at www.clearstoryarts.com