Artist name: Miriam Robinson
Featured Work 1: “Faceprint” Free Painting Hidden in Public
Interdisciplinary Artist Miriam Robinson creates a range of colorful, beautiful, and layered works. They contain rich hues and some utilize carefully chosen areas of white negative space and thoughtful written messages to engage the viewer. She experiments with control and chance and wanders along the barrier between private and public art with her free art drops, collaboration with art non-profits, and mural and public sculpture creation.
Featured Works Slideshow:
5 Questions for the Artist:
1. What is art to you?
Art is hard to define, and I think that is part of what makes it so beautiful and so necessary. For me, it is often the visualization of that which I cannot put into words. It is truth, it is the sharing of a snapshot or a perspective of life, and it is the indescribable.
2. What did you make in the past, and why?
I’ve made a lot of things in the past, for a lot of reasons. I started a series called “Faceprints” a year or 2 ago, about 4” or 5” square paintings on wood that I gave out for Free Art Friday. I was given an old stencil by a neighbor of mind – a stencil artist I liked. I had very little confidence in my paintings at the time, but having the stencil felt like a secret weapon. I could experiment a lot with abstracts and different methods of creating abstracts, and then use the stencil on top of it. The feeling of the abstract came out, but it didn’t have to be the focus of the painting or particularly meaningful in and of itself. I later began using these faceprints as a way to communicate perspectives, thoughts, and encouragement to people in the community. I’d write things like “does this make my heart look fat?” or “the secret is: you never had to blend in” or “We’re 70% water. We all run sometimes.” I’ve made probably 300+ of these paintings. I’ve hidden a bunch in Atlanta, and I’ve shipped them to friends to hide in other cities, and given them to friends to drop while traveling abroad.
The inspiration behind my series of “Faceprints” comes from the idea of footprints and from this innate desire to make an impact – to make a mark. Ironically, however, I think the biggest lessons I’ve learned haven’t come from times of comfortably moseying along the path of life. The most impactful moments of my life– the ones that have inspired real change and growth have come from times of struggle, where I’ve really fallen on my face. “Faceprints” is about sharing this vulnerability of humanity with the hope of creating a positive impact – with the hope of sharing hope with someone else who may or may not also know what it’s like to walk with their face.
3. What are you making now, and why?
Currently, I’m working on a series called “Explosive Geometries.” It’s an experiment in ordered chaos, testing the balance between naturally occurring and manipulated forces on water-based paint media. It came from making heavily water-based acrylic paintings where the water dripped in all different directions, from flipping the direction of the canvas on the easel.
I began assisting other artists in painting murals, and I became interested in the idea of painting a mural of my own. I began experimenting with ways to get a similar effect to the multi-directional dripping effect I got from flipping the canvas, as I knew I wouldn’t be able to flip the wall. I landed a job in a sculpture studio, and as I was introduced to power tools, I became interested in the use of pneumatic tools and other power tools to push water-based paint in different directions. It created incredible textures and movement. Then I began experimenting with ways to make the designs more calculated, more ordered, less chaotic. And now I’m making and showing “Explosive Geometries” at national shows.
4. What are your hopes for the future?
I’m really interested in doing more public artwork. I hope to go on to make some more incredible sculptures with Formations, and I am working hard to land and lead some collaborative mural projects with local artists I admire.
(5. Do you want to add anything?- no)
Artist Supplied Background:
Miriam Robinson was born in Cairo, Egypt to American parents, living overseas. She grew up in Duluth, Georgia and was an interdisciplinary studies major at Georgia College & State University and Georgia State University.
Miriam is an interdisciplinary artist, a fabricator, and a project manager. Her background and heart is in the arts. She has worked alongside a handful of international and local artists in completing indoor and outdoor murals as well as worked on award-winning sculptures and scholarship-winning installations.
She is passionate about public art, collaboration, and community building. In her free time, she experiments a lot with new ways of painting and volunteers with local art-related nonprofits. One of her favorite pastimes is to hide free paintings around cities for others to find (#freeartfriday). When she’s not working on art projects, Miriam enjoys crossword puzzles, yoga, and indoor rock climbing.
Miriam Robinson is on Instagram.
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