Commissions:
A New Gateway was installed in early 2020. The project was interrupted by the pandemic and resumed with the installation of Waves of Inspiration.
Title: A New Gateway – Year created 2020
materials: stainless steel, bronze and delrin
Phase two of the commissioned installation was completed in early 2022. A functional sculptural barrier.
Title: Waves of Inspiration – Year created 2022
materials: stainless steel and delrin
Commissions, for us, are a welcome opportunity to focus on a clients desires. In many ways we are too creative in our ideas when we design freely and it is hard to refine our work as we try to incorporate too many ideas as time always seems too short. Some of our best works results from custom commissions.
–
Title: Sitting Bull
Custom Commission – a revisit to the warrior series based on a request from one of our strongest supporters. We exceeded our own expectations.
–
Media: Optical Glass Sculpture
year created: 2012
This work is specifically created for the client knowing her desires. She commissioned the work blind and the result was one of our strongest works to date. We also designed and created a custom stand to prevent her cats from reaching this optical glass sculpture.
–
Title: Time and Tide- Year Created: 2018
Media: Optical Glass Sculpture
Base: HDPE – Stand: Powder coated steel
Commissions are not necessarily based on a clients aesthetic desires but also on price range. These three works were created for a fundraising events for the Art Museum in Albuquerque.
–
The large work in optical glass and stainless steel – Titled: Alter Ego was created for the exclusive collectors dinner. The smaller pieces were created for the public exhibition and auction and were created to be sold at a more accessible price.
–
Left side: Night – Right Side: Day
Optical Glass Sculpture on High Density Polyethylene base
Some materials we use in our work are very limited in availability or exceedingly expensive; in this case, solid gold and optical filter glass exceeding 6mm in thickness. We are happy to revisit works using these materials, but honestly we cannot “play” with these materials for our own curiosity. This is where commissioned work assists us in moving ahead and developing concepts further.
–
An invitation to provide work for an exclusive collectors dinner at the Albuquerque Museum provided the assurance to dip into the last reserves of Ema’s solid gold wire to create this ambitious necklace.
–
Title: Bound by Flame
Year created: 2014
Materials: Solid 14K gold, optical red filter glass, clear crystal spheres
We have been very thankful for opportunities to push ourselves past our comfort zones. This private custom commission came as an opportunity to develop previously untried techniques. In 1993 we were commissioned to create a dining room table. With the new knowledge gained from creating new types of work, the effects ripple forward in time, resulting in works that are influenced by our experiences.
–
In this case working with white Thassos marble, which became a favorite material and the CNC machining of stainless steel as the “foot” for the large wedged cylindrical glass unit.
–
Title: City Scape
Table top dimension 4 ft by 8 ft. height 32 inches
View as originally installed in clients home in 1994
–
a cobalt blue light shines through a hole in the base to light the branching clear side of the table at night
Before optical glass sculpture he studied the more traditional craft of copper foil stained glass and progressed to hand beveled glass. The bevels progressed into thicker and larger work until they emerged as stand alone sculpture.
–
Right: Waterfall Window
originally commissioned for the window to be installed above a bath, for water to cascade into the tub and privacy from the street on the other side of the window. Hidden support was devised to prevent the need for thick support metal lines.
year created: 1982
–
Left: Tuscon Windows
Side lights for either side of entry door: floor to ceiling. Mixed media windows incorporating hand blown stained glass, water white and optical glass filter laminated bevels, copper foil and copper and bronze sheet metal and bronze mesh.
year created: 2018
At this time we are most interested in pursuing custom commissions. We feel that this is the best way to ensure we use our resources in the most efficient manner to create works that are of the highest quality and still maintain a reasonable price point. In exchange for freedom in design we can offer reduced pricing to our established clients. Life is short, we will exchange financial gain for the freedom to create and grow.
Please note: Because optical glass work is very time consuming and physically demanding. We only work in this media to investigate specific new ideas and for commissioned work. We do not sell optical glass through galleries on consignment, however we do entertain exhibitions from our private collections. We also entertain straight wholesale to galleries and museums from our existing works.
Public Art:
With our studio and the galleries closed due to the pandemic, we looked for ways to exhibit and show our newest works to the public. Our solution was Public Art. We are proud to announce a purchase by the County of Bernalillo in New Mexico
Title: Sinusoidal Waves
Year created 2021
materials: perforated aluminum with mica powder blue patina
–
location is still to be determined.
left: Displayed at our studio garden
pending display location: Alvarado Square, Albuquerque New Mexico
With our studio and the galleries closed due to the pandemic, we looked for ways to exhibit and show our newest works to the public. Our solution was Public Art. We are proud to announce our first pieces submitted were accepted into the City of Albuquerque’s public art program
Title: Grand Expectations
Year created 2020
materials: copper sheet metal and bronze strip
–
location is still to be determined.
left: in our studio/gallery
below: three views
It is particularly gratifying for Ema’s folded works using origami concepts to be accepted into the realm of Public art where it can be viewed in a non-commercial setting. Hopefully this will raise awareness of the process of folding in art and design. We hope more opportunities will arise that will allow us to help educate about the endless possibilities utilizing the theories that these works are based upon.
–
Title: Balanced Blossom
Media: Copper Mesh and Copper tubing, bronze sheet metal
year created: 2018
–
City of Albuquerque, Public Arts Collection
location yet to be determined
We are especially excited to exhibit John Healey’s abstract photography printed in our studio on fine art canvas. This work is also mounted using a floating stretch frame that we have designed in and developed in our studio using the same CNC technology that Ema is using for her curved sheet metal folded sculptures.
–
Title: Fire Fox
Year Created: 2020
Media: Photography on Custom Float Frame Canvas
Highlighted Commissioned Projects:
Highlighted Project: Collaborative Sculpture: “Creation on Artists’ Easel “
June 23, 2023
Introducing Ema Tanigaki and John Healey’s latest sculpture. “Creation on Artists’ Easel”
The image that is mounted onto the stainless steel frame with bronze fixtures depicts creation from a singularity. The strong sunlight in New Mexico is pouring through the colored glass to create a painting of light onto the concrete patio surface.
This work is the continuation of a body of work that can be installed in either an indoor or outdoor location. All materials used are UV resistant and can handle thermal changes, and are water proof and are designed to be wind resistant.
*This work has been sold. Please contact us to inquire about the next works upcoming in this series.
Please see more images and a few glimpses of the process of creating this work in the slide show below.
By Ema Tanigaki and John Healey
“Creation” is the title of the glass composition of this sculpture. It is a combination of a support sheet of plate glass with one of a kind mouth blown stained glass and an three layered optical glass unit.
Artists’ Easel is the supporting structure of this sculpture.
Perforated Stainless Steel is used as a sculptural element which also serves as a “catcher” for the colored light that is transmitted in the”glass shadow”
The glass is shattered using a somewhat controlled method to create clean lines with no loss of glass material. The pieces are then hand beveled and edges cleaned. These pieces are adhered to the support glass using adhesives that can tolerate outdoor display.
Once the glass section is completed the dimensions are input into a CAD program and the design process of the easel is started. This ensures the correct fit and proportions and allows for a modular approach.
Then metal fabrication can begin
Highlighted Project: Collaborative Sculpture: “Functional Gate and Wall sculpture”
Phase two of the commissioned installation was completed in early 2022. A functional sculptural barrier.
–
Title: A New Gateway – Year created 2020
–
Title: Waves of Inspiration – Year created 2022
–
materials: stainless steel and delrin
–
Continue to see the development of this private commission – Phase 3 coming soon
Daytime View
The Gateway is specifically created for the client knowing her desires. She commissioned the work blind and the result was one of our strongest works to date.
The process created new ideas and helped refine many techniques.
The gate portion of the design started in a virtual Computer Aided Design environment to allow for exacting dimensions and tight tolerances to ensure that the sculptural work does not only have aesthetic merit but high functional integrity.
In addition in a virtual environment multiple designs can be explored and modifications can be made easily, without wasting materials and resources.
From the CAD design a flat pattern is generated. The lines are transferred into machining pathways and machined into the actual material. In this case perforated stainless steel.
–
For precision folding in the gate a CNC spindle router is used to machine precise grooves.
Although precision machining is an important component for the success of a sculpture so are hand created details.
Phase two of the commissioned installation was completed in early 2022. A functional sculptural barrier.
Title: Waves of Inspiration – Year created 2022
materials: stainless steel and delrin
For Waves of inspiration a small hand made model was scaled up into a full size design using freeform curved sheets.
Design in plastic sheeting below and perforated stainless steel in progress on left.
Phase 3 is in progress
To be continued
Waves of Inspiration was designed in three major modules with smaller units used to tie the major modules together onsite.
Left: Waves of inspiration packaged and ready for transport