Interview: Patti Robinson

In conversation with collage artist Patti Robinson.

Can you talk about your journey into or interest the arts?

Like many people, I got a BFA and didn’t feel like I was a good enough artist. Art school encouraged my ‘inner critic’ to become a real demon. It took me many years to create like no one was watching.

Ironically, now I post to Instagram nearly every day. Meeting a supportive community of collage artists on Instagram has been incredibly wonderful!

Do you use a sketchbook or journal within your process?

When I had a solo show coming up several years ago I thought I needed to create some large work to fill the space. The concept was daunting because I’d always work small. I decided to start working in a 5”x by 9” sketchbook every day to get through my creative block. As it turned out, the sketchbook pages became the solo show – I framed each one and showed about 50 of them. The process of working in that sketchbook was really transformational.

Your work uses lots of found materials. How do you compile these, is their a set rationale s to how and why you use certain things?

My source materials are entirely vintage magazines, mostly LIFE. I’m obsessed with the colours, the print quality and the images. I’m pretty sure I dream in these colours, maybe I always have. I feel I bring a unique connection and understanding of these materials because they were printed during my lifetime.

Can you talk about your process of working. How do you work, how often?

I work nearly every day, bringing my inner world into the outer world is very meaningful and healing. My work table is a huge mess of scraps, I shuffle through them until they find peace with each other. Lately I’ve been painting on the collage papers, I feel it helps me connect in a more raw way.

I have become increasingly interested in the therapeutic value of keeping a sketchbook, can you talk about your thoughts on this or your relationship to this?

Creating the sketchbook that eventually became the show was a huge discovery for me. Every piece I do now is created in one sitting, I feel that I’m able to stay more authentic and honest this way. It’s a great way to eliminate overthinking. Thinking is overrated!