ARTIST STATEMENT
I was bitten early by the sewing bug when my naked Troll Dolls needed clothes and my Barbies begged for outfits. As a teen, I rebelled by sewing myself fluorescent braless halter tops.
I set my needle down during my working years when I held three careers in the arts: Advertising Art Director, Jewelry Designer, and Etsy Crafter. I loved it all, but creating for a market comes with its own challenges, and I’m happy to be retired.
Now I enjoy making art on my own terms and I’m back to creating with needles, fabric and thread.
Play is central to my work. I love stylizing and abstracting graphic elements, and I delight in what happens when my collections and vision are threaded together. My favorite materials are family hand-me-downs and rummaged oddities gathered from years of thrifting. These previously owned objects carry well-worn histories and nostalgic stories, which often lead me to playful surprises.
BIO
Robin Romain is a community-taught, folk-ish textile artist with a weakness for rummaged fabrics, forgotten notions, and the kind of treasured oddities most people would leave at the thrift store. She mostly hand-sews and embroiders her pieces but sometimes her sewing machine comes out to join the party.
She graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from California State University, Long Beach and has studied with quilt artists Heidi Parkes and Sherri Lynn Wood.
She currently lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, dog and cat. Although not everyone is tolerated by the cat.