Our good friends at Pacific Glass Gallery are always making sure that work from sought after artists the world over can be found in their shop. Whether it’s Micro, Boston, or ETZ P.G.G. prides themselves in their ever-growing and diverse group of artists they work with. When we caught word that they would be receiving some glass from none other than Takehisa Okumura we grabbed our cameras and headed for the hills of Isla Vista, CA in hopes to check out some work from the famed master skull-smith.
…A little back-story on Takehisa
Based out of Osaka, Japan Takehisa Okumura first started melting glass in 2004, when he started working at the Baz-Glass-Studio. But it wasn’t until 2006 when he participated in the Kobe Lampworking Festival did he step out into the public eye, post this event he went on to participate in these lampworking events in Japan as well as the US:
- Borosilicate Art Exposition – Japan (2006)
- Kobe Lampworking Festival – Japan (2007)
- Borosilicate Art Exposition – Japan (2007)
- Borosilicate Art Exposition – Japan (2008)
- The Best Bead Show – USA (2009)
- WINNER @ Best Bead Show Flame Off – USA (2010)
- International Glass Exposition – USA (2011)
- Arizona Project – USA (2012)
- The Best Bead Show – USA (2012)
We first caught a glance at his work during the International Glass Expo in Los Angeles, CA along with the other artist who made the trip with him. His intricate and imaginative skull pendants he had brought captivated the entire crew. Since then he’s expanded his reach, doing more intricate skulls and even some of his first pipe art. So without further to do let’s check out some of whats all available right now at P.G.G.
“Four Eyed Pipe #4″ sports a dark red, amber purple, and caramel color scheme, 3 cloudy yellow horns, and 4 giant eyeballs. The body has a unique, almost wrinkled, texture sculpted into it, and the beige mouthpiece is covered in a grimy, textured red frit. All 4 eyes have an incredibly detailed, blueish-green iris, complete with a thin, wispy retticello design that’s eerily lifelike. The pipe has a vibrant red push with a small-medium sized hole, and the carb is placed on the left side. It measures about 4.5″ long, 2.5″ wide, and 2″ tall, and it fits quite comfortably in your hand. this is the fourth pipe he’s ever made!
“Sandblasted Reversible Pendant” features an amber purple spiked loop attachment, a large detailed eyeball, and a carefully sculpted puppet-like face with a bloody empty eye socket, a bulging millie eyeball, and a stitched up mouth. The entire piece has a matte, sandblasted finish with a blueish-black color scheme that’s partially obscured by beige frit. The pendant has 2 solid loopholes, so you can wear the it one way, then reverse it when you want a completely different look. This piece measures just under 2.75″ tall, 1.25″ wide, and 1.75″ thick, and it includes 15′ of high quality hemp string so you can make your own necklace for it.
“Airbrushed Skull Pendant” features an intricately sculpted face, 5 spikey teeth, a sturdy loophole, several drawn designs, and a beautifully airbrushed color scheme that reflects a bronze, red, and purple sparkly color scheme. This unique piece measures just under 1.75″ tall, 1″ wide, and 1″ thick, and it includes 15′ of high quality hemp string so you can make your own necklace for it. There is a small paint fleck chipped off one tooth, and this imperfection is reflected in the price.
We hope you enjoyed checking out some of our favorite pieces from the shoot, a huge thanks to our friends at Pacific Glass Gallery and Takehisa Okumura for putting this all into place! Stay tuned for more exciting glass adventures right here on IgniteMe.co! The pieces shown here as of 5/15/12 are available. many more are too, go check them out!
Want to see more? Check out all the pictures we got on our Official Facebook Page!
