Robin Clark moved from California to the Minden area 11 years ago and, shortly after, began her local art career through the Artisan Shop at the Brewery Art Center and as a consignor at the NAA Gallery. When the Artisan shop closed, long-time NAA member Pat Holub encouraged Robin to move her consignment work to the NAA gallery, thus beginning Robin’s dedication to the NAA Gallery.
Robin discovered the idea of working with clay-like leather when she was helping a friend through cancer treatment with art therapy. Creating was not new to Robin, though, as she had been encouraged by her mother to make art out of anything she could find. Growing up, money was sparse, and gifts were mostly found objects made useful or beautiful by hand and one’s own imagination.
When Robin was a child, her family decided to travel across the West in a covered wagon. During this adventure, there was an endless utopia of miscellaneous objects of natural and manmade origins, just waiting for the mind of a young one guided by a creative mother to be formed into an object by which to be entertained and admired.
Robin still gathers the materials for her creations in thrift stores or anywhere she finds something that could be recycled. The found object or material may have to wait for years to find its home in a work of art. She starts with the support of the work, whether it is a frame, box or some type of container, then goes from there to whatever inspires her. Just think of what she could have done with a U-Haul truck following the Oregon trail. Learn more about Robin at www.definitelycreative.org