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My art interest stems from childhood, but I didn’t receive formal training until my youngest child began school in 1988, when I took a part time BA (Hons) course in Fine Art and Critical Studies at Central St Martins, graduating in 1993.

There was a strong emphasis on integrating theory and practice on the FACS course.  Students were encouraged to adopt socio/political themes and to find relevant placements. My area of interest was in the value of art in health care and I spent a placement year at the Churchill hospital, Oxford.

Students were also encouraged to work in contemporary media, including photography, film, performance, installation, and site specific work. Until then, my practice had been painting and drawing, but I am a slow painter and I found diversifying interesting and valuable, often producing more immediate, more appropriate work to the project in hand.

I applied for a postgraduate course in Art Therapy in my final year, but lost my hearing suddenly and developed tinnitus which ruled out further academic study at the time. I opted instead for a shorter course and a teaching qualification and enjoyed my work and students immensely in the years that followed.

I am currently revisiting past work in other media but have returned, in the main, to drawing +  painting, using pencil, charcoal, pastel, ink and paint. The themes that interest me continue to be health, the natural world, and the concept and meaning of the word ‘home’.

maryrobinson.co.uk