About

Robin Stark is a Professor of Ceramics Arts at the College of Southern Nevada where she has taught Design Fundamentals I (2D), Ceramics I, and Ceramics II since 2005.  Born in San Diego, Stark received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Davis and her Master of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania.  Freelancing as a ceramic artist by marketing a body of work at wholesale markets was appealing after graduation but a move to Nevada in the 90's restored her interest in making one-of-a-kind pieces, while working full-time at an architectural firm coordinating public artwork and producing graphic design.  Years passed and her original passion for art education brought her to the College of Southern Nevada Las Vegas where she leads the ceramic program as a faculty member in the Fine Arts Department.  Throughout her creative profession her ceramic art pieces have been featured in both solo and juried national exhibits.  She has also been involved with several collaborative community projects and commissions and recently, was as a Design Team Member for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Winner Trophies.  Robin's ceramic work has also been awarded an Artist Fellowship, an Artist Fellowship Honorable mention, and three Jackpot Grants from the Nevada Arts Council.

 

Artist Statement

Newton's law of gravity states: what goes up, must come down.  Robin lightheartedly compares this theory and its simplicity and directness to how she is motivated to create her ceramic sculptural forms and vessels.  What she experiences, must come out.  It is that simple and direct.  Perceptions from experiences eventually come out as emotions or ideas transformed into a visual ceramic metaphor animated through form, color, and texture.

 

She has an inherent connection to clay and glazes with her perceptions flowing easily into the material.  Her creative process is filled with sketches, photographs she has taken, small ceramic models, templates, test tiles of color schemes and textures.  Mid-range white stoneware clays are used with colored slips and underglazes in both contrasting and harmonious combinations.  Glossy surfaces juxtaposed with matte unglazed surfaces reflect light in differing ways.  Negative spaces interplay with positive surfaces of images and color.  Forms can be complex, appearing to be off balance or incredibly simple such as a group of cubes tied together with an image.

 

Her style has ranged from literal interpretations (early work with birds and human figures) to abstract geometric/organic forms.  Themes have revolved around perceptions of joy, happiness, loss, isolation, and the qualities of both introversion and extroversion while also searching for an expression of balance between these contrasting emotions.  Robin’s most current work uses the bird as a focal point for illustrating unsettling experiences or emotions, making them more approachable through humor or beauty.­­­  These themes are universal for the human population and are meaningful to a diverse society, which is important in her reach out to public viewers.