Judy Robkin

Clay, watercolors, pen and ink
Judy Birnbrey Robkin is a self-taught artist whose work has been shown in galleries around the country and whose pieces have been juried into shows such as the American Craft Council, Piedmont Craftsman, Carolina Designer and many more. She has worked with a variety of clay techniques throughout her career and is currently immersed in a project entitled "Ladies", a series of intricately handcrafted ceramic women. As a ceramics instructor at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina, she teaches hand building, Raku and other firing techniques. Judy enjoys sharing her love of art and creativity with others by teaching classes in clay, watercolors, calligraphy and more. Her belief is that if you break things down to their individual component parts, one can teach anyone to draw or paint or create in any other medium.

Tina

Three questions on inspiration with

Judy Robkin

  • Describe an object that has inspired you
  • Describe a place that has inspired you
    Having lived in Israel for many years, I feel a strong international influence on my pieces. My “Ladies” appear to have stepped out of the local marketplace, be it in Morocco, Italy or Greece. I use textures and objects collected from all over the world including Indian textile stamps, Middle-Eastern trinkets and Chinese jade to enhance the story that each piece tells. Just as our lives are textured by time and experience, layered through joy, love, loss, and surprise and colored by world events and personal experience, so too are my "Ladies" - textured, layered and colored.
  • Describe a person that has inspired you
    My father, Henry Birnbrey, is part of every piece I create. He would see an object such as a painting or a piece of furniture or a photograph and say "I can do that" and he did. As a child he gave me the courage to try my hand at everything. He taught me to be fearless and to trust my creative self.
  • Unearth more inspirational people, places and objects