Born in London in 1939, Tanya Ashken is a NZ silversmith and sculptor. Introduced to crafts at the progressive boarding school Bedales, Hampshire, she became the youngest person to acquire a silversmithing hallmark at just thirteen. In 1960, she was awarded a diploma in silversmithing from the Central School of Arts & Crafts, London before going on to study sculpture at the Atelier de Del Debbio, Paris and Camberwell Art School, London.
Tanya married NZ artist John Drawbridge (1930–2005) in 1960, and emigrated to NZ in 1963. She was one of several European-trained jewellers who came to NZ in the 1960s, transforming contemporary jewellery here. She was awarded many silversmithing and jewellery commissions, the most notable include the Crosier for the Bishop of Nelson and Church Silver for St.Mary’s, Timaru; Kings School Chapel, Auckland; Matewhero Church, near Gisborne, The Home of Compassion and St. Peter’s Church, Wellington.
In 1967 Tanya was the second artist to be awarded the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship. She spent a year in Dunedin after which she was awarded a number of major sculpture commissions including Seabird V (1974) NZ High Commission, Canberra; 3 piece water sculpture Albatross (1986) Frank Kitts Park, Treaty of Waitangi Sculpture (1996) Court of Appeal, Mantabird (1995) Circa Theatre, and several works at Victoria University, Wellington. Tanya has exhibited widely throughout NZ and has works in many private collections.
At 84 years old, Tanya still lives and works in the Island Bay home she and John purchased in 1964. With a passionate love of seabirds and animals, the natural world is both the source and purpose for Tanya’s work, while pre-classical and classical traditions of her European heritage provide a balance in her quest for form. Her sensuous sculptures embody strength, elegance and timelessness – classical in spirit and organic in form.