What material(s) do you use in your sculptures?
“Clay, Glass, Mixed Media.“
What is your primary forming method?
“Clay – hand built via pinch, coil, and slab“
What is your favorite surface treatment?
“I like physical or visual texture. So sometimes the pieces are heavily textured in the making process or after first firing with textured glazes. I’ve been enjoying alternative firing lately and am now also creating carefully orchestrated surface designs with chlorides, sulfates, and flammable items.”
What are your favorite Tools?
“After all of these years, my favorite tools are my hands followed by a wooden knife and a fondant scraping triangle.”
Describe your studio environment.
“Prior to 2022, I worked in the bustling member studio, Fireseed Clay Art Studios in South Austin. I love working near and with other artists. The energy is contagious! My husband and I built my current studio in Bastrop in 2021 and I also love the focus I can find in my quiet, cluttered space. I play music, research and work 4-6 hours a day.“
How/Where do you market and sell your artwork?
“This is my weak link! I market via a few sales a year, Art04 in the 78704 neighborhood, Travis Heights Art Trail (usually my best returning customers) and the Austin Studio Tour.”
What sparks your creativity? What drives you to create?
“Researching, taking workshops, and teaching are my springboards for creative spark. Then getting my hands dirty in the making and firing of my work. That’s where the flow starts and turns my ideas into a growing body of work.“
Did you come to sculpture from a different career? Tell us about your journey to becoming a sculptor.
“I have always been an artist from hours-long drawings as a young child thru sketching as a youth, and sculpting as a teen and young adult. I came to clay in high school and it has been my sidekick ever since. My sisters and I were among the first college students in my family so I did start with a solid career in the sciences and software development. This paid my way as an artist as I continued to take art courses anywhere and everywhere I lived as I followed the software industry around the US.“
How have you have taken your experience as a well-established maker in the field and passed that knowledge along to other artists?
“Well, I love to talk about clay and techniques! So I teach in community settings like the Dougherty Arts Center, small studios and for the last several years at Laguna Gloria. I love seeing students and colleagues light up when we get into the hows, whys and then see the results!”
What’s the best advice you’ve been given by a fellow maker, mentor, or teacher?
“The best advice I’ve ever received was from an instructor I had in the 80’s at Pima Community College in Tucson. Badly paraphrasing Joe Harris, “The difference between being an artist and not being an artist is that an artist keeps making art.“
TSOS Member Profile: Robin F. Gary
Website: www.creativekilnworks.com
Instagram: @creative_kilnworks
Bio:
Robin Gary grew up in the wilds of Los Angeles. She has a BA in Applied Mathematics from UCLA and only took one art class there! A life long learner, she took art classes and workshops at Santa Monica City College, Pima Community College, Corcoran School of Art and many, many small studios around the US. After a successful 20+ career in tech, she put that aside to raise her daughters along with husband Jim. She became a full-time ceramicist, fused glass artist, sculptor and instructor in 2003. She has shown in Maryland, New York, Washington D.C., Florida and Texas. Currently she teaches sculpture and alternative firing techniques at Laguna Gloria and her home studio in Bastrop, TX.
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