Creating cosmic spaces

Together, Angie Henigman and her brother Daniel Henigman have been playing with paint for more than 20 years, creating imposing and energetic wall art — in entertainment venues and in public spaces — that belies the hard physical work behind the execution of the murals.

Their frequent flyer points are off the chart, for it is not unusual to communicate with Angie while she takes a break from the scaffolding on a project in Cancun or in the south of France. Their popularity has brought their talent to the attention of homeowners around the globe, increasing the number of private residences in which they have interpreted fantasies for walls in every room in the house and frequently for outdoor living areas.

Locally, the Henigman team has painted the lofty ceilings of Macon’s City Auditorium and Grand Opera House. Fans of rockabilly music are surrounded by walls painted by the Henigmans at Whiskey River nightclub. Their portfolio is full of a versatile array of scenes that range from classical restraint to outrageous animation.

Commissions have included showrooms for Harley-Davidson dealers and dining rooms in chains of restaurants coast to coast.

When the new arcade Pin Strikes, on Sheraton Drive, was in the planning stages, the principals engaged Henigmanart.com (the web address and business moniker) to paint scenes that create movement on the walls throughout the facility, which features cosmic bowling, laser tag, bumper cars and, a new, highly charged, interactive game — balladium.

The only areas of the building without colorful scenery are the bumper car section, which has a black reflective wall surface, and the large central room where numerous games and gaming machines line the walls and fill the space.

The decibel level of the music inside of Pin Strikes reflects its slogan, “It’s knock down family fun.” There are families playing games or careening from one wall to the other on bumper cars while their children dash from one activity to the other as if they are racing against the clock. The lighting, the colors and the music overwhelm the senses.

COSMOPOLITAN NIGHTLIFE

Spectator seating in the cosmic bowling alley is a sophisticated arrangement of S-shaped banquettes, upholstered in a contemporary pattern that complements the custom carpet, and has subdued indirect lighting to diminish players’ distractions.

On the left wall, skyscrapers soar into the glow of the Atlanta night where traffic whips through the streets in a neon psychedelic blur. On the right, artists’ license allowed the Henigmans to rearrange the significant landmarks of Macon to show off the Douglass Theatre, the Grand Opera House and the Cox Capitol Theater as they would appear on Oscar night, with flood lights crisscrossing the sky.

The Pin Strikes logo on the wall of the main bowling alley is a splash of color at the moment the ball strikes the pins, against an inky black sky. All of the painting was done with air brush, in reverse on glass walls, using white light and black light paint, the latter the most dramatic in the evenings.

The murals and the lighting set the mood for each room’s use — a cacophony of color and music in the main bowling alley, restrained in the cosmic bowling area and a space walk in the laser tag room.

Angie describes the laser tag room as “standing at the edge of a large planet, surveying other worlds in the galaxy.” Craters, jagged mountain ranges and water are part of the misty ether rising as a foggy shroud around the planets. The paintings are three dimensional with lighting that alters the intensity of the colors, adding to the illusion that they are in orbit.

To achieve the effects of motion requires manipulation of the paint’s intensity and knowing its reaction to the lighting, a remarkable feat considering the scenes are painted in reverse; however, Angie and Daniel continue to refine the application. With the increased number of laser tag arenas, they have had plenty of practice in the last few years across the southern band of the United States.

Recently, Jambo’s Barbecue in Arlington, Texas, was featured on the Travel Channel. Its interior walls were decorated by the Henigmans. During the 20 years they have painted together, there have been other television spots and programs, and their painted furniture is found in houses all over the world. The warehouse is full of works in progress for elegant interiors and for the whimsical.

A FAMILY LEGACY OF ART

Painting and other artistic talent are part of the Henigman DNA — Shirley Stafford Long, Angie and Daniel’s mother, painted the mural on the Corbin Avenue side of the original Ingleside Village Pizza when it opened. Their brother, the late Jim Henigman, established with his wife, Celia, a glass art studio in Forsyth that continues to build and restore stained-glass windows locally and for clients across the country and in Asia.

With increased interest in murals and in painted furniture, Angie and Daniel are more in demand than ever. The residential market has improved during the last two years with the rise in numbers of new construction and in remodeling. Painted furniture continues to add a different component to interior design. An overlooked advantage of painted furniture is covering a multitude of sins on damaged or outmoded furniture and giving it a new look and an extended life.

‘KNOCK DOWN FAMILY FUN’

The new Pin Strikes is open on Sheraton Drive seven days a week and specializes in planned parties and in corporate events. The exterior of the building is as colorfully decorated as the interior, but the interior is worth a trip to see the first arcade of its kind in Macon and its abundant and clever use of vivid color.

There is a separate bar, open only to adults, at one end of the arcade that is subdued in décor and is surprisingly quiet, a respite from the frenetic activity in other areas of the arcade. For more information on hours of operation, visit the web pinstrikes2.com or call 478-812-8655.

This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Creating cosmic spaces."