Solaz, Designs of "Solace"

In her art and life, Emily celebrates Solace, Solaz, in the complex beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Inspired by the countless color tones & textures, and the magic of rainstorms, her metalwork draws upon the flora and flow of the landscape. The hardness of the medium is softened by a woman’s touch and whimsy; the rustic nature is made sophisticated by intricate designs, taylored finishes and inlaid glass. Her solar Shadow LightsTM are an exploration of negative space to create unique dancing light patterns; a subtractive process of rendering a complex design from a simple square column. 

Emily started welding at Pima with their Welding for Artist class and metal work emerged as the great passion and place of “solace.” No longer in public education, she spends day and night banging away with powerful equipment to create beautiful things which she shares at her cooperative, Chris Bubany & Friends Gallery, selective art show in the Tucson area, and across the country through online sales.

Her specialty is her Shadow Lights, which have sold all over the country. They are unique ornate functional art that can be made for solar or low-voltage installation. The intricate patterns plasma-cut into all sides of a 4x4” column cast enchanting designs six feet around the light. Her designs range from organic to contemporary to tapestry-like and are very popular to clients in her Gallery and at all her art shows.

The LLC name, Solaz Designs, is the Spanish word for solace, and it was chosen as the company name because solace is what Emily finds in the mesmerizing glow of melting and joining metal while absorbed in the imaginative escape of creation. Since the explosion of the popularity of her Shadow Lights, it is the Sol-AZ that people interpret as Arizona Sun, which wonderfully describes the power that illuminates her lights.

Highlights

Featured in Tucson Lifestyles as garden and home long-form feature

Tucson Lifestyle, Lighting

Tucson Lifestyle, Gates

Lighting sold across the country

Mailboxes installed in Illinois, Florida, Michigan and Ontario, Canada

Frequent Art Shows

Tucson Museum Artisans’ Market (November & March)

4th Avenue Street Fair

Tubac Arts Festivals

Tempe Festival of the Arts

Retail

Chris Bubany and Friends Gallery, Tucson, Arizona

Art Centro, Old Town Artisans, Tucson, Arizona

Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona

Raku Gallery, Jerome, Arizona

Etsy, “SolazDesignsMetalwork”

solaz.biz

Workshops & Studio Tours upon Request

East Tucson, east of Catalina Highway, South of Snyder

See solaz.biz for details

Emily is a Tucson native who didn’t realize how much she loves beautiful Arizona until being gone way too long. After undergraduate studies at Rice University, including a semester at the University de Chile, Santiago, and one in Costa Rica she spent some time gathering perspective and seeing the world by sampling Central & Eastern Europe and Central America. After living the ski dream in Crested Butte, CO & working as a high school dorm parent, she returned to Tucson for graduate school. With a firm and inspired educational philosophy, she went into the schools as a fledgling in Tanque Verde Schools teaching Spanish and Technology, where she participated in Fulbright Uruguay; then into professional development for Pima County Schools Superintendent’s Office as a Technology Integration Specialist and teacher-trainer. Though certified in CTE (Career & Technical Education) to teach welding, she instead spent her last few years in TUSD and Sunnyside as a technology coach for teachers, a library media specialist and student technology team coordinator. She is now a successful full-time working artist.