Shining Through:
A Conversation of Recovery with Kazuki Takizawa
Kazuki Takizawa is a Japanese Glass Artist working in Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a BFA in Glass Art. Since then, he has worked in various production glassblowing studios in Hawaii and California. He is an artist in residence this year at STARworks Glass Lab (NC) and Salem State University (MA).
How did you learn about CERF+?
A very good friend of mine received emergency funding from CERF+ several years ago when a neighbor’s booth set up at a craft show collapsed and damaged many of his art works. In spring 2016, I slipped and fell off a ladder and fractured my wrist bones. I had a cast on for about 4 months and I was not able to blow glass and make work for about 6 months. Although I worked on jobs where I did not have to do the blowing myself, assistance from CERF+ helped me very much in getting through this tough time.
What was it like getting physical therapy and trying to work?
Recovery and physical therapy were a painfully slow process. In glassblowing, there is the turning hand and the shaping hand. I don’t know which hand is more important, but I injured my right hand which is my shaping hand. Six months after my injury, I was able to hold very light shaping tools with my right hand. From then on, each week, I was able to hold bigger and heavier tools. For me, working and having a routine are an important part of my life and mental health. During my recovery, I struggled with keeping a positive outlook on things. I had an irrational fear that my wrist was not going to heal properly and I wouldn’t be able to blow glass anymore. But this injury and the experience gave me a lot of time to contemplate what I would like to make in the future.
“In Between Light and Shadow” glass installation at STARworks
How did you come to work at STARworks? What do you like about this community?
What are you working on now?
I am just finishing up my month-long residency at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts. I made a lot of new work that I’m very excited about. I’m also excited about my solo show, Catharsis Contained, currently going on at the Craft in America Center in Beverly Hills until July 15th.
