Let's talk Robots In Rowboats! Two years ago a friend of mine was showcasing his areal photography at the Boulder Arts Festival. He mentioned to me he would have a booth and suggested I stop by. So I did what any artist would do, I called my other creative friend and asked her to stroll the show with me. With the promise of food, and potential shopping, she agreed and we found ourselves wandering downtown on a beautiful summer morning, munching on pastries, and chatting about whether we'd ever be good enough to also have our work at an event one day.
While we were pretty diligent about exploring each booth, the one sharing a wall with the artist we originally came to see was filled with these cheeky little prints of a solo robot going on many adventures by himself. I was instantly smitten.
This is the part where I should tell you that Lauren Briere, the artist from Robots in Rowboats does not know I am writing this review about her. This is not an ad in anyway. I simply wanted to spend the month of giving sharing my favorite artists of the year with you... and she is one of them.
I left and returned to her booth four times that day, finally deciding to purchase the print above which hangs in my office. It makes me smile every time I see it. While I'm not much of a social media person (I'm a self proclaimed 80 year old woman when it comes to technology) I do often try to stalk artists I want to keep an eye on. Okay, yes, I admit sometimes it's so I don't forget their name - which happens more than I'd like to admit. Lauren was one I was excited to follow. Not only was she a gem of a person to chat with at the booth, so down to earth and clearly passionate about what she does, but her stuff was super affordable.
One of the risks of attending a festival in a city like Boulder is that because the art is usually prestigious due to the incredible screening process and audition artists have to go through just to get accepted, it often means the pieces are well beyond the price most people can easily pay. While I'm all about paying true price for art since it often takes a lot more work to create it than people know, I'm also acutely aware that most of us don't have a ton of extra cash laying around.
My print for my office cost only $20.
While perusing the pictures I wanted, before deciding on my favorite, I heard another customer ask her why the robot was always alone, and if she ever drew robot couples. She explained that the main theme to her work is usually “alone but far from lonely”, but that she did often get requests for couples robots and she will sometimes oblige. She went into her drawing process and talked about how she does draw images for people when they commission then. Her own wedding invites were going to be her work before she and her husband decided they were more "court house wedding" kind of people.
I can't lie, if I ever came up with a really good idea I would commission her to do a private piece for me in a heartbeat. Until then I watch her Etsy site, and her Instagram for possible images I can purchase to add to my work wall art.
You can't help but smile looking at this solo robot looking so far from lonely. It's empowering to remember the best part of you is YOURSELF, and to be authentic in your life.
Have a person in your life that you need a gift idea for? I would recommend checking out her site, she has a robot for every personality: http://www.robotsinrowboats.com
*All images are taken directly from Robots in Rowboats as to keep the authenticity of her product.
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