Hiromi Takizawa

I find myself enraptured by the ethereal moments when the first wave of raindrops touches down. Briefly hypnotized, the feeling dissipates quickly as the droplets form paddle. Leaving me to reorientate to my present and focus on my current surroundings. Taking a few breaths acknowledging the smell of the air, the patters spotting the ground, and the cold taps against my skin. Embracing the sensory experience is refreshing, cleansing, calming, grounding, and energizes me as I am pulled back into reality and continue the task at hand.

To document these fleeting instances, I have been monitoring anticipated local rainfall times to execute my artmaking process.

I preload the kiln shelf with calculated hues of powered glass that’s reflects from the surrounding environment.  When the dark clouds arrive overhead, I gently hold the kiln shelf in my hand outside and patiently wait for the rain to arrive. When the moment is over, I place it back in the kiln to fire the glass. The glass is able to record this phenomenon allowing me to return my gaze back to the moment under a new perspective.

https://craftdesert.org/material-witness/

May 25 – August 17, 2024
City Gallery
AH314
Arts & Humanities Building
San Diego City College
1508 C Street
San Diego, California 92101

"Material Witness showcases four borderlands artists who experiment with environmental factors, such as light and water to document their surroundings using craft processes. From Luciano Pimienta’s raw clay sculptures that erode overtime to Hiromi Takizawa’s ghostly glass impressions of collected rainwater, the featured artists harness the unique properties of clay, glass, wood, and metal to capture provocative moments in their material’s lifetime. The reflective surfaces of Leslie Shershow’s jewelry and monumental sculpture play with the presence of artificial and natural light sources while Brandon Secrest’s wooden sculptures shape shift in response to changes in their environment.   

The process of transforming a material into an object is somewhat alchemical and serves as an artifact of the environmental circumstances that influenced its current form. Like the rings of a tree, a person’s collection of experiences with a material informs how they understand it. Each experience builds another layer of understanding as different variables of time, circumstances, and ideas, challenge previous conceptions. 

This exhibition calls for further interrogation of humanity’s impact on the environment. As time moves forward, the works will continue to change, encouraging new observations. 

Material Witness is curated by Kathryn Hall Asaro, Adam Manley, and Kerianne Quick. The exhibition is a 2024 World Design Capital participant.

The exhibition is supported in part by Craft Desert and Allied Craftsmen of San Diego. "

Each piece is inspired by the city of Santa Clarita’s surroundings and inhabitants. The various blues of the Western Scrub Jay, beautiful layers of the open sky and the gradient sunsets and wildflowers were all at the forefront of our imagination while creating artwork for the Santa Clarita Canyon Country Community Center. Collaborative project with Elijah Wooldridge.

Amongst the Wildflowers

15 ft x 4ft x 4t, 13ft x 3ft x 3ft, Steel

In the wind

120" x 27" x 30" , 156" x 40" x 26", 138" x 35" x 32", Steel

Canyon Sunrise

9ft to 11ft & 5" diameter, Steel

California Natives is based on the native trees that grow in Orange County such as California Sycamore, Scrub Oak, Black Oak, Big Leaf Maple, and White Alder.  We were fascinated by these trees, and how they remind us of the significance of trees, which can provide food and nutrition, oxygen, a canopy and a habitat for wildlife, as well as combating climate change and clean air.

In this work, we use the reflectivity of stainless steel to create an illusion of forest leaves, as viewers pass by the artwork. The back of each leaf has each been painted a different color. These colors will appear in the fronts of the leaves as the viewer passes. The colors were selected to suggest the changing of seasons while adding some warmth to the piece.

It is our hope that our sculpture offers a sense of growth, joy, and playfulness for the city of Santa Ana and the residents of The Line as well as celebrating Santa Ana community and the history of nature in Orange County.

4ft to 6ft each in Stainless Steel

GLASS

8FT X 8FT X 4FT

Sleeping Forest revisits the peaceful and curious moments of being secluded in a forest—a space that fills the heart with excitement, calmness, and well-being. I craft this imaginary landscape with transparent glass to evoke a dreamlike, ethereal memory. The glass tubes are handblown, cut, cold-worked, polished, and suspended to create a floating, otherworldly effect. Light seeps through the branches, capturing the warmth of sunlight filtering through a forest canopy. This interplay of light and shadow translates into the work, creating a brightness that contrasts with the calm, as the glass catches the light and sparkles, echoing the shimmering beauty found in nature.

Glass, an earthy material derived from sand, embodies qualities of transparency, fragility, and fluidity. By introducing heat and my breath, I manipulate its transformation from molten to solid, amplifying its optical and reflective nature. This work highlights the beauty of glass while weaving in my personal narrative.

Trail Gazing is a thin-fired glass powder installation inspired by lichens discovered on trails. Lichens, nature's air quality indicators, have been used for medicine, dye, and decoration since ancient times. Growing up near Japan’s Alps, I developed an appreciation for nature's patterns and forms at both micro and macro scales. This artwork transforms the vibrant essence of lichens into an imaginative “ground-scape” on a vertical wall. The piece explores the interplay between the fragility of ecosystems and glass—delicate yet strong—reflecting both nature's resilience and vulnerability.

Fall back, Spring forward is a mixed media site specific installation for the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation, Alta Roma, California. Leaves where foraged from the garden at the Maloof foundation in fall of 2015 and then casted in glass to preserve the leaves in the moment they were foraged. Now they are returned back to the garden in the spring of 2016.

The Little Things reflects my memories of places I’ve visited—rivers in Nagano Prefecture, Japan; a pond in Stanwood, Washington; the volcanoes of Hokkaido, Japan; and many other locations where I’ve spent meaningful time. During my travels or even on daily walks, I collect rocks, captivated by their colors, patterns, and forms.

Growing up in the Japanese Alps and playing in nature, I developed a deep appreciation for closely observing the natural world. These glass rocks are created using fused glass techniques. I layer and pattern each piece with glass stringers in a kiln and later transform them in the glassblowing studio, blowing them into hollow forms.

I find joy in the intimate scale of these rocks—precious, pocket-sized objects. This ongoing project evolves over time, much like our memories and the journey of life itself.

Neon, metal, Plexiglas 

Neon Birdhouse: 17"x17"x 22"

Trees/poles : 14ft to 16ft x 6ft x 6ft

Ultraviolet

Neon, foliage, Polycarbonate film

8ft x 8ft x 10ft

2013

Safe and Sound

Glass, cork, video 

Filmed at Puget Sound in Washington 

2013

It Comes in Waves

Magnifying lenses, neon

8ft x 15ft x 2ft

2012

"It Comes in Waves" is a light and glass installation inspired by the seascapes of Southern California. Suspended magnifying lenses serve as the central material, creating a dynamic interplay between light and form. By exploring the focal point of these lenses—similar to how one might use a magnifying glass to focus sunlight—I refract light and manipulate its behavior.

I bent a neon tube into a gentle curve, implying a simple drawing of a seagull, but as the neon seagull refracts through the lenses, the image reverses and transforms into a symbol of waves. The result is an ephemeral projection on the wall, capturing the fluidity and rhythm of the sea. This work reflects the subtle yet powerful interaction of light, glass, and perception.

Makes a house a home

Neon

13" x 13" x 19"

Foster Lake, Alfred, NY

2012

Glass in Space

Angus Powers and Hiromi Takizawa

Video 

Approximately 22 miles, 40,000 feet high, 52 mins of flight

This collaborative project was done in celebration of both : 50th Anniversary of Glass studio movement and 50th Anniversary of Space-John Glen’s historic first-orbit around the Earth. 

Spacecraft: Yellow Plastic Dachshund,waterproof Kodak camera, Tracking unit, space helmet ( fabricated in NYSCC@ Aflred Neon shop, 5 foot weather balloon, foam box, twine, parachute for Rocket Recovery, 3M lint roller handle, zip tie, silicon, mojo fur from Fred Tschida, bubble wrap, helium, FAA approval for flight certificate 

This video captured the flickering of the sun light that reflects off the water in the waterfall through the glass lens of an old camera. As water flows, specs of light briefly appear. The bouncing water is captured in the moment of falling water from a cliff and hitting the rocks. The muse that I discovered in a nature through a glass lens, I wanted to capture the moment. Filmed in nature at Nagano, Japan.

Love at First Sight

Neon, sunglasses, Instagram

Feb 14th, 2013

Memphis restaurant at Santora Arts building, Santa Ana, CA

Disregarded prescription lenses, neon

2011

Parallel Lives - Bon Voyage to the Pacific Ocean

Blown glass, plastic film, wood, 

144"x18"x60"

2010

One Thousand Halos

Blown glass, wire

15ft x 5ft x 1 ft

2010, 2011

Shipment from California

Blown glass, wood, neon, plexiglass

52" x 26" x 36"

2009 - 2016

Space in Between

Magnify lenses, neon, wood, metal 

12ft x 8ft x 5ft

2009

Crossing the Pacific Ocean

Blown glass, neon, wood

2007

Crossing the Pacific Ocean features a solemn blue neon airplane suspended above hundreds of tiny glass bubbles, each reflecting the airplane. The work explores themes of distance, dislocation, and cultural transformation. Inspired by Takizawa’s move from Nagano to the U.S., the piece captures the emotional divide between her and her family while also reflecting her profound journey through American culture. Described as a “cultural self-portrait,” the dominant airplane symbolizes her westward journey, while one reflection heads east—a tribute to her memories of home and the culture that nurtured her.

Gaze Gaze was a two person exhibition featuring Aesa Bjork and Hiromi Takizawa at Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Aflred University.