|
Information About Robin Atkins
Artist's Statement
In the mid 70s I took some metalsmithing classes and began a five year
part-time business making gold and silver art jewelry, learning from books,
experience, and my jeweler friend, Elizabeth Chenoweth. Forming sheet metal and
wire into jewelry with hands, hammer, saws, files, and torch was thrilling and
always challenging to me. Although my interest was still strong, life
circumstances changed and I gave up my metal shop after five years.
In 1987, the desire to make a professionally knotted necklace lead me into a
series of beading workshops and a new artistic direction. Combining my metal
working skills with a growing knowledge of beading techniques opened a whole new
world of possibilities. On a trip to Europe in 1988, I found sources for unusual
glass beads and began a long-term interest in ethnic beadwork of Eastern Europe.
I returned home (then in Seattle, Washington) to open Beads Indeed, a
studio/shop, where I sold beads and began to teach beading and metalsmithing
workshops. During the decade which followed, I learned that as much as I know
and understand about the history, technology, and art of beads, there will
always be 10 times more just around the corner. The following is a list of some
of the places Ive taught and lectured about beads, and shown my work.
Beading (and metalworking)
workshops taught:
Bead Societies: Coeur dAlene,
Billings, Chicago, San Juan Island, St. Paul/Minneapolis, Anchorage, New York,
Washington DC, Budapest (Hungary)
National Conferences: Embellishment (Austin 95,
Houston 96, Austin 97, Sacramento 98, Portland 99
& 2000), Council of American Embroiders ( St. Louis 93), Bead Expo
(Santa Fe 98), Design & Sew (Oregon 2000), International Quilt
Festival (Houston 2000)
Art Centers: Coupeville Arts Center (19972000),
Pratt Fine Art Center, Kirkland Art Center
Textile and Weavers Guilds:
Reno, Chicago, Honolulu, Friday Harbor
Community Colleges: King and Skagit Counties
Bead Shops: Dava Bead and Trade (Portland), A Bead
Company (Anchorage)
Slide lectures given:
Bead Societies:
Seattle, Portland, St. Paul/Minneapolis,
Albuquerque, Billings, Chicago, Coeur dAlene,
Spokane, Anchorage, W. Virginia, Washington DC, New York
National Conferences: The Third International Bead
Conference (Washington DC 95), Bead
Expo (Santa Fe 98), Embellishment (Austin 95, Houston 96,
Austin 97, Sacramento 98,
Portland 99 & 00), National Button Conference (Tacoma 98)
Museums: Ethnographic Museum (Budapest), Bellevue Art
Museum, Whatcom Art Museum, Kirkland Art Center
Various guilds in Washington state, Reno, Chicago, and
Honolulu: Contemporary Quilt Association,
Smocking Guild, Antiquarian Society, Button Society, Textile Guilds, Needle
Arts Guilds, Weaving Guilds
Libraries in Seattle and King County: Adult Education
Program
Work shown at:
Kirkland Arts Center, 1993
Kaleidoscope (Council of American Embroiders National Show),
1993
Frye Art Museum (won Jurors Award), 1994
Edmonds Historical Museum, 1995
Embellishment National Conference (First Place
Mixed
Media, Second Place Finished Jewelry), 1995
Bellevue Art Museum, Ubiquitous Bead 2, 1996
|
