Tom Tabakin

I first got interested in photography when my neighbor took a picture in our backyard and then invited me to his house and walked me through the steps that lead to seeing a picture emerge on a sheet of paper in a tray of developer. I was hooked and fascinated.

Photography lead to filmmaking, (interspersed with metal sculpture) and film school at the University of Southern California. My student film won the Cannes Film Festival Award for the Best Student Film in 1972. A ten year career in the film industry, as a filmmaker or cameraman in Israel, Kenya, South Africa, Ecuador, and finally back in Los Angeles. I also had the great fortune of working with a well-known commercial photographer in South Africa and other very talented people.

Now, I am back to where I began. I will follow my need to dabble in shape and color and form, in various mediums. I love to experiment. I print on sheets of treated plastic and then transfer the images to sheets of watercolor paper. I imbed images in wax and work in encaustics. Recently, I am adding shape and texture to images that extend out from the flat surface with the use of acrylic mediums as well as wax. Also, I have been hand carving wooden art spoons and bowls.