STUDIO VISIT WITH SHANA ROBBINS

Over the weekend I visited the studio of Shana Robbins with SEEK Atl. If you haven't heard of SEEK Atl, it's organized by Brendan Carroll and Ben Steele, and it's a way for artists and art afficionados to conduct studio visits outside of the academic realm. I was really excited to see Shana's studio because I've been aware of her work since ~2006-2007 when I got to see her MFA thesis show at Georgia State. Since that time her work has continued to evolve and become more complex. My favorite part of studio visits though, is seeking the work in context of the space of where it was created / lives. 

We got to hear about some of her struggles being a mid-career artist in Atlanta, being called mystic barbie (and coming to terms with it) and transitioning away from her earlier career as a fashion model. Her description of her proposal that's she's currently working on for Field Experiment, a large grant from the Goat Farm was fascinating. I also found the story of her family history helped to enrich my viewing of the her work. For my part, I found her meticulously rendered spiritual self portraits diarist and reminiscent of Indian miniature painting. In the same way that a diary entry might not make total sense to someone else, her seemed full of stories that were obfuscated, somehow locked in her mind.

We also all got a cd of her music! Thanks Shana!