For our eighth interview of the 2022 Delaware Fun-A-Day, we talk to artist and PAWS for People Director Lynne Robinson about alcohol inks, art space accessibility, studio tours, and pet therapy. Thanks, Lynne!
We like to know how people are connected to Delaware Fun a Day - are you a resident, born and raised? Or do you live in a neighboring state? What brings you to participating in this event?
I am a Cecil County resident now, but an import from Delaware where I lived for about 20 years but was born and raised in Havertown, PA.
This is going to be your second year participating in DEFAD. 2021 was our virtual year and that was your first time participating with us. Now in your second year of participation, in 2022, you will be joining us in person. How well (or not well) do you think our virtual year went? And how do you think it will compare to being a part of the big show in person? Are you excited?
Yes, I am excited. It’s really neat to participate in a “grand scheme” type art show. Virtual made last year’s show possible, so that’s the good part. Virtual, on the other hand is 2-dimension and on a screen. Art needs to be viewed from all angles and in person to get the full experience. I’m really happy that this year we can be in person.
You work predominantly with alcohol ink, an art medium that attracted many first time creators who had never before really “tried” artwork before because it’s a forgiving medium that is based in experimentation. Is alcohol ink your first experience with an art medium, or did you work with other art mediums previously? What is it about alcohol ink in particular that you find attractive?
Alcohol ink is my choice of mediums for the color and the excitement of not really knowing how the end result will be. I have experimented in most of the current media and found them confining, where the inks present infinite possibilities. I started with a few drops of color on ceramic tile and played around with coasters and trivets, etc. But you can have just so many coasters and trivets so I added working on Yupo paper, took a turn with metal work crating necklaces, and now I’ve moved heavily into working glass on glass.
When I sit down in my studio to do a little creating, I never know what I’m going to end up with so I just keep adjusting the colors and the alcohol and the techniques I’ve learned over time and pour my heart into the piece right along with the pouring of the inks. My finished pieces are always a surprise and have become quite popular with folks that view my work.
You speak very light-heartedly about your work and seem to approach it in a very playful way. Do you find that working in alcohol ink has a therapeutic effect on you as a person by evoking feelings of joy or relief? We’d love to know how your art makes you feel, and if you didn’t have your artwork, what else would bring you joy?
Inking is very therapeutic. Since I have no goal, no “I want this to be a painting of a fields of daisies” type of expectations, the process becomes the joy and the colors become my guide. I am not doing this to support myself financially – it’s a “let’s try it” experiment that has become my outlet, my joy, and my personal expression – assisted by brilliant colors. So the color is crucial and working with a certain technique that merges into another technique which merges into something wonderful to look at is all therapeutic. The inks got me through Covid and have become a way to release anxiety and just sink into the fantasy world of creation.
How many exhibits do you typically participate in a year? Do you think it’s important for artists to participate in many shows with many groups or to focus on fewer but well-attended shows with a consistent group? If you don’t have a specific answer, that’s ok, but you’ve exhibited a lot and for both new artists and well-seasoned pros, it’s nice to hear from a fellow artist about their experiences.
I used to be quite active on the exhibit scene, however I have found it more and more physically taxing to do all the prep and lugging and setting up and taking down needed to show my work at fairs and festivals. This year I have been felled with a severed tendon in one leg and resulting debilitating pain in the opposite hip from compensating for the hurt leg, so I physically cannot do the same things I used to do. Bummer. BUT with art, there are many other ways to share work, sell work, and donate work – so I’m now looking for alternatives – open houses in my studio, teaching classes on line and in my studio, smaller shows that are less demanding, and having my artwork displayed in places like the The Drip Café and Jerry’s Artarama.
What can you share with us about your experiences over the past year in regards to physical accessibility to art and exhibit spaces? You’ve been to some venues that don’t have great access for folks with a physical injury or disability. If the director of one of these art exhibits were reading this interview right now, what advice would you give them in regards to this issue? Speaking as an artist and a director, how can they give better access to artists who want to participate in these events but who also need better access?
Ah, a question that has become dear to my heart due to obvious physical issues I explained earlier. I think the best thing the exhibit folks can do is to make it clear that there is handicap accessibility for artists to set up and show – that means nearby parking, that means having a booth that you can drive up to unload, that means just acknowledging that the artist might need some help unloading or packing up. Just the gesture of being aware that someone might need a little extra attention would go a long way.
Tell us about the non-profit PAWS for People, and your role as the Executive Director there. How has PAWS impacted your creative life and influenced you in commitment to following your joys and passions.
I am the proud founder and executive director of a local non-profit organization that is committed to provide individualized therapeutic pet therapy visits for those in the community who are in need of some extra love or attention or comfort. PAWS started out with 21 therapy teams and 10 places to visit. In our 17 years, we have grown to over 650 therapy teams and over 200 places to visit (before COVID hit). We are building back to those numbers quickly and I’m proud to say we did survive Covid due to the creativity and hard work of my staff and the therapy teams that worked virtually.
PAWS is all based on the awareness of the need in the committee for a gentler way to help folks and the amazing ability of pets – dogs, cats, and bunnies – to bond with people and provide that warmth or distraction or motivation that they need. This is very fulfilling work and yet there was still a part of me that needed to be expressed and finding alcohol inking when I took a class out of curiosity, that has helped fill the remaining part of my need for creativity and “drawing outside the lines”.
You have a really great home studio, with fabulous lighting, overlooking a sweet little lake just beyond your backyard. Do you have any practical advice for other artists about creating a space in their home or apartment? What was most important to you as you were preparing your art space?
Light, light, space, and light. I started working in my home office and found it too confining. I then moved to my dining room because the space was better but it’s so dark, I felt like a monk in the dark abyss. It finally dawned on me that with a little rearranging of the furniture on my sunporch, I could have space and light (and look out at trees and the lake at the same time.) It took a while for me to transfer all my STUFF but I’m now totally moved into the sunroom and very happy there. Extra supplies and starter kits and completed pieces waiting for a new home have all been relegated to a basement rec room, but the supplies and frames I work with are close at hand in the studio.
How do you feel about studio tours, and at-home art exhibits wherein you invite either friends and family or the general public into your personal art space? Are you for or against it? And have you ever done an at-home art exhibit before?
I am all for studio tours and home exhibits as I mentioned earlier these are easier for me to deal with physically. You don’t get as much exposure, obviously, but this year some other artists in my neighborhood (Glen Farms) are going to do a Holiday Art Loop and that should be very doable physically and a lot of fun. We will each be drawing our own crowd of admirers and might meet some new enthusiasts. The Loop will be Sunday, December 4th and we have 3 artists so far and are hoping for others in the area to join. You can consider this an invitation – please call me 410-398-1711 – if you are interested in participating in the Holiday Loop.
Are there any art organizations that you are a part of that you would like to share with us today? And if so, what are some of the opportunities you have found being a part of these organizations?
I belong to:
Cecil County Arts Council
Newark Arts Alliance
First State Craft Guild (a chapter of the Lancaster Craft Guild)
I love being connected with these art organizations because I get to meet new artists and share ideas, I can find out about local art exhibitions to either show in or just attend to view, and it helps me get my name out there. And the people are really helpful and nice to work with.
Your 2022 project is titled “Just A Peek”, which will be framed pictures made up of tiny" peeks" of a larger patchwork quilt. The “peeks” will be created with alcohol ink on yupo squares recreating the designs and patterns of the larger quilt. So my question is, have you tried quilting before? It’s always fun when one art medium influences another, so I’m curious to hear about the inspiration that sparked your project idea.
Yes, I’ve had my turn with fabric and squares and trying to make quilts. I have found that it’s the colors of the material I really like and sewing a straight line for more than an inch is just not my thing. Love the finished product – it just won’t be done by me!
When the show is over, will this new collection made for Delaware Fun-A-Day be available through your Dragonfly’s Wings online art shop?
Yes – but it’s very different from my usual work. Maybe that’s a good thing and I’ll venture into yet another way to use alcohol inked works.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Sure – just a word to a person curious but hesitant about alcohol inks. Go to Jerry’s Artarama and buy 4 alcohol inks colors you love and make sure one is gold or brass (metallic). Get a tile and start to play with the colors. Watch what happens when they mix and mingle. Then look carefully when it’s dry – notice the pigments have separated and all kinds of colors and shading and design will have appeared unexpectedly. You’ll be hooked. Have fun! Or call me for a lesson – we’ll have fun together.
Where can people see more of your work?
Online in the Dragonfly’s Wings Online Art Shop.
The Drip Café in Hockessin and The Drip Café in Newark. Seeing my work on someone else’s walls is so gratifying. Otherwise, besides a couple of shows I’m doing this fall – Elkton Arts Festival, Newark Arts Alliance show ‘Spirituality’ happening right now, a PAWS for People online art auction in November, and a Holiday Open House “Fair Hill Art Loop” in December. But if you want to get the full experience of the breadth of my work, please come to my studio in Glen Farms and enjoy a sampling of all the types of inking I do.