On paper, Robin Siddall ’20 spent most of her time at Wellesley as a math major and astronomy minor. Each semester, though, she crafted her schedule to include art courses, too. When she took stock the summer after junior year, she was only a few basic requirements short of a studio art degree. So, on the first day of classes her senior fall, she changed her major. “I did it a little bit backwards,” she says, “But it worked out.”
Robin had found her way to the Book Arts Lab as a sophomore. She got a job as a studio assistant there with director Katherine Ruffin, and for two summers, she also worked in the conservation facility next door. Her senior studio art project incorporated letterpress printing, papermaking, and bookbinding. After graduating in the early days of the COVID pandemic, Robin moved to Western Massachusetts for two years to work with Ken Botnick, a book artist who’d been a Newhouse Center for the Humanities fellow during her final semester at Wellesley. She’s now the exhibitions and programs manager for Print Center New York, working remotely from Somerville, Mass., where she lives with her partner (who she met through the Book Arts Lab) and another Wellesley friend (who also worked in the Book Arts Lab).
Working with Ken, Robin gained experience in printmaking, bookbind-ing, and, more broadly, in thinking about craft and process—but she didn’t have much “creative juice” left for her own practice. Now that she’s work-ing online all day, she tries to carve out more time for her art. “The thing that I have found to be really important is having hands-on craft as a way to engage mind-body connection, and learning by doing is really important to me,” Robin says.
At the 2024 CODEX International Book Fair, she made her first book sale—a project titled Radiant Sources that she produced during a residency in California.
Though she primarily considers herself a letterpress printer, Robin has started to explore pottery at a studio in her neighborhood. The learning process has been slow—and rewarding. “It’s been really nice to be a beginner at something again,” she says.
Post a Comment
We ask that those who engage in Wellesley magazine's online community act with honesty, integrity, and respect. (Remember the honor code, alums?) We reserve the right to remove comments by impersonators or comments that are not civil and relevant to the subject at hand. By posting here, you are permitting Wellesley magazine to edit and republish your comment in all media. Please remember that all posts are public.