Polk County
Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 25, 2015 7A
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Robert Tomlinson’s studio in Independence is packed with a “playground” of materials to create art, from globes to sticks, dominos to Scrabble letters.
Through the eyes of an artist
Tomlinson finds potential art in everything from words to sticks
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
I
NDEPENDENCE —
Robert Tomlinson’s art
studio in Independ-
ence is stacked with spray-
painted branches, twigs,
gold-painted sunglasses,
dominos and dice.
Globes of various styles
line the shelves way above
eye level. Books lay on
shelves, some with bindings
and covers missing. Old
metal toolboxes, some
rusty, are filled with shells,
feathers, eggs, pinecones,
seeds, wood or a lock of
hair.
On the side of his home,
shells spray-painted black
dry before they can be
brought back into the stu-
dio and added to the collec-
tion of supplies there.
Tomlinson, a contempo-
rary artist, said he doesn’t
have any one specific thing
that inspires him, but rather
allows the world around
him to create art.
“The big thing in life as
an artist and as a human
being is paying attention,”
Tomlinson, 63, said. “Dri-
ving down the highway, I
look at a lot of backs of
trucks, mark making.”
Those marks, at some
point, become an alphabet.
“We know in the compi-
lation of letters, we make
words that make sense that
make meaning, but what
accounts for the meaning in
an abstract work of art?” he
pondered. “Those are the
questions I ask instead of
‘what is inspiration.’ It’s
more specific and directed.”
Poetry and language play
a large part in Tomlinson’s
path as an artist, with works
in progress such as the “loaf
poem,” which will be words
or phrases painted on slices
of a loaf of bread, which has
been spray-painted gold.
His most recent exhibi-
tion at the Dan and Gail
Cannon Gallery of Art at
Western Oregon University
included a variety of works
centered on exploring
words and art together. One
piece, “The Silver Leaf
Chronicles,” is ink and spray
paint on leaves collected
from his garden. Each silver
leaf contains a two-word
poem.
Everything in Tomlinson’s
studio is well organized. A
jar of Scrabble tiles of vari-
ous shapes and sizes here, a
line of legs — perhaps col-
lected from tossed-aside
toys. What will those be
used for?
“There’s a conversation
that occurs between the
artist and the materials
you’re working with,” he
said. “So that’s a big part of
the process: listening. In
some ways, from your expe-
rience and what you see
around you, you’re sort of
unconsciously guided or
given impulse or opportuni-
ty to have an impulse. I pay
attention to those. I work
very intuitively, and I trust
my intuition emphatically.”
Tomlinson has had a long
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Robert Tomlinson goes through sketches at a workbench in his studio Friday after-
noon. Behind him hangs a work in progress using bindings of books.
road to get where he is now.
He has worked a lot of jobs
helping organize nonprofits,
teaching art to a variety of
age groups and abilities, cu-
rating and directing art gal-
leries, and, at one point,
owning and operating his
own retail shop.
Many of the jobs he has
taken have been meant to
let him spend more time in
the studio, even though
most of them have ended
with just the opposite effect.
“I was going to work the
store 50 percent of the time
and have my studio time,”
Tomlinson said of owning a
retail shop. “I thought I was
getting more studio time by
doing this. When my part-
ner left, I got stuck with the
whole thing.”
It takes a lot of time to
focus on being an artist, he
said.
“I was always making art,
but what was missing was
spending the time and en-
ergy to promote myself, to
promote my career,” Tom-
linson said. “Still to this day,
(promotion) takes 50 per-
cent of my time. People
don’t realize that. It’s a huge
amount of time and effort.”
A serious health problem
and resulting financial diffi-
culties really turned his
focus to following his path
as an artist.
He found himself asking,
“What do I really want to
do?”
“There’s nothing else to
lose,” Tomlinson said. “I re-
ally want to make art.”
The seed to create art for
a living was planted in Tom-
linson’s brain while he was
in high school.
“I went to my first open
studio and saw how an
artist can live,” Tomlinson
said. “I didn’t even know
about artist’s studios. I
didn’t even know what they
were. It changed my life. I
had no idea that people
lived like they did and they
lived with art, and they had
a workspace where they
made art. It’s fantastic!”
At the time, Tomlinson
dabbled in poetry and
music, playing both the gui-
tar and percussion.
He started drawing while
working with elementary
school children at a private
Quaker school in Pasadena,
Calif.
He took his first and only
art class in a barn while liv-
ing in New Mexico.
Arts and language are im-
portant to Tomlinson for a
number of reasons.
“What I think the arts
contribute to is how we can
think differently, how we
can solve problems, how we
can re-evaluate things,” he
said.
With everyone plugged in
to various electronic de-
vices, Tomlinson said peo-
ple don’t get a chance for
self-reflection.
“Come on folks, take a
walk in the woods, think
about things,” he said.
“Hopefully what the arts
can bring is the importance
of self-reflection and the
ability to think differently,
outside the box. That’s cru-
cial to have.”
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Using spray paint, Robert Tomlinson creates new bits of
potential art out of old mundane things.
This loaf of bread will one day be a “loaf poem,” written
by Robert Tomlinson, poet and contemporary artist.
Shelves are packed full of jars and boxes, each containing
different tools to make contemporary art pieces.
It’s That Time!!!
Advertise in the 2015-2016 Polk County Phone Directory!
Contact the Advertising Department at the Itemizer-Observer, 503-623-2373 for more information.
Visit online at www.polkio.com/polk-directory/
Eagle Directories
Polk County Telephone Directory
147 SE Court St., Dallas, OR 97338 • 503-623-2373