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Artist Statement and Resume
Since 2002, Laura
Robbins has focused solely on mosaics that incorporate glass,
ceramic, natural and man-made objects. She expands upon an amazingly
rich tradition. She has completed commissions for private
residencies, businesses and schools throughout New Mexico and
elsewhere, including the Range Cafes, Amy Biehl High School and
Accion. She received a top award in the NM Women in the Arts
Originals show at the Millicent Rogers Museum in 2007. She is
currently co-spearheading the multi-panel, seventy-foot-long
Placitas mosaic mural, Protect Our Wildlife Corridors, which
has involved hundreds of community members and seeks to raise
awareness of New Mexico's indigenous animals and their need to
travel to maintain genetic viability. Her imagery explores design,
mythical, natural and environmental concepts. She received her BFA
from Carnegie-Mellon University.
About the Process
My mosaics are primarily made from
ceramics and glass. I incorporate stones, gems, fossils and found
objects as well. The clay forms are individually crafted, bisque
fired, painted with glazes and fired again at a high temperature.
They are then ready to be placed on the prepared surface. Individual
wall pieces and some sculpture are created on foam covered with
fiberglass mesh and polymer cement. Most work is weatherproof.
The glass pieces are created by
precision cutting, random shaping or fusing. I tend to approach the
placement of glass pieces as marks or brushstrokes. Each piece
responds to the one before it as well as to the negative spaces that
will later be filled in by grout, the last step.
Some of my series are entirely
spontaneous design. Other series are extremely personal, iconic
fantasy. Also, because I am committed to helping identify and
protect the wildlife passageways of New Mexico, much of my imagery
includes animals, flora and fauna. I co-spearhead an extensive,
cooperative community mosaic to raise awareness to this end.
My home and studio are in the
Placitas foothills of the Sandia Mountains. I share a ridge top with
family and friends and neighbors such as hawks, ravens, turkey
vultures, rattlesnakes, bull snakes that keep the rattlers away,
rabbits, coyotes, lizards, horny toads and beloved wild horses.
Bears, cougars, deers and bobcats live nearby. In a wet spring, the
hills are covered with yellow flowers.
Permanent Mosaic Installations in Public
Locations
2010
Placitas Community Library: Outdoor Sign
2008- Placitas Recycling Center Wall, Placitas,
N.M.: Co-spearheading seventy foot long mosaic
Community Mural
2010
entitled Protect Our Wildlife Corridors.
2008 Accion, Albuquerque, N.M., Donor
Recognition Plaque.
2008 The Range Cafe, Montgomery Blvd.,
Albuquerque, N.M.: Fireplace.
2006 Office of Jennifer Ridgeway, D.D.S.,
Albuquerque, N.M. : Decorative Mural.
2006 Accion New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.:
Donor Recognition Plaque.
2006 Amy Biehl High School, Albuquerque, N.M.:
Donor Recognition Plaque.
2005 Office of Dr. Jennifer Ridgeway, D.D.S.,
Albuquerque, N.M. : Decorative Murals.
2005 The Range Cafe., Wyoming Blvd.,
Albuquerque, N.M.: Decorative Murals.
2004 Sandia Preparatory School, Albuquerque,
N.M.: Donation Mural, Student Center.
2004 The Range Cafe, Menaul Blvd., Albuquerque,
N.M.: Interior border design.
2003 The Atomic Grill, Santa Fe, N.M.: Pizza
Oven/Fireplace.
2002 The Range Cafe and Lizard Lounge,
Bernalillo, N.M.: Fireplace.
2001 Bosque School, Albuquerque, N.M.: Donor
Recognition Mural,
Peggy Findlay Fine Arts Center.
2001 Bosque School, Albuquerque, N.M.: Donor
Recognition Mural,
Gerald and Betty Ford Library.
2000 Bosque School, Albuquerque, N.M.: Donor
Recognition Mural, 23 Acre Club.
Administration Building.
PRIVATE HOMES Over thirty individuals
have commissioned mosaics for their homes during the past six years.
Most are viewable upon request.
Awards
2007 Award: Originals 2007 Millicent
Rogers Museum, Taos, NM
New Mexico Women in the Arts/
National Museum of Women in the Arts
2007 Las Placitas Association Hall of Fame in
recognition of outstanding service to the Community
2005 1% For the Arts: Rio Bravo Train Station,
Albuquerque, N.M. (In progress with Patricia Halloran.)
2002 Award: Best In Show, New Mexico
Potters Association, Harwood Art Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Published
2009
Range Cafe Cookbook by Matt DiGreggory and Tom Fenton.
Pages 39, 40.
2009
June 14th Sunday Arts Albuquerque Journal. Large photo of mosaic
backsplash
wrongly attributed to another
artist. Page 1.
2007 Su Casa Magazine April 2007
(pages 74-77)
2004 Cover of Blue Mesa Review,
Sixteen, UNM Literary Magazine.
2003 Creative Garden Mosaics by Jill
Mackay, Lark Books. Page 49.
Education
BFA Major in Printmaking, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Printmaking Award
MS in Education, Specialty in Environmental
Education, Queens College, N.Y.
Honors
Additional Information
Resident of New Mexico since 1975 (except for
when studying for MA in New York.) Teacher from 1985-2003. Founding
art teacher of Bosque School, Albuquerque. Early mosaic
experimentation with many hundreds of student mosaics. 2002 Student
Display of Mosaic Fish at the Outdoor Courtyard of Albuquerque
Aquarium and Botanic Gardens Education Center. Previously an etcher
(NM Arts and Crafts Fair Purchase Award 1976 - recently displayed in
a retrospective at the Albuquerque Museum.)
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