Rosalind Robinson
Rosalind Ford Robinson of Ellicott City, Maryland has been immersed in various types of sewing: fashion, home decorating and education/ teaching throughout life. Having loved sewing since of an early age, skills were acquired starting in secondary school home economics sewing classes and continued through college, continuing to today. It was natural for her professional career to involve teaching sewing as a Home Economics (Family and Consumer Science) Teacher.
Several forces led her to transition from fashion and home decorating sewing to quilting. After going to an African American Quilter’s Of Baltimore (AAQB) quilt show nearly 30 years ago, all sewing interest turned toward quilting. It seemed a perfectly natural decision to join The AAQB while completing her first quilt. Being a member has been a powerful source of motivation, challenges and exposure to spark creativity into insatiable passion.
What would characterize her quilt making style? High contrast in color- black and white with sprinkles of red, or warm brights, and sometimes denims; movement - fluid, rhythmic, geometric, musical, optic-illusionary print or quilting thread design; with some embellishment(s); and angles in - fabric shapes, prints, and angular quilt-stitch designs. Prints, solids, stripes, and batiks are some of her favorite fabrics. The voice of fabric is amplified through manipulation, configuration and color combinations. High contrast, movement and angles may be present throughout all quilts.
Inspiration comes from many sources. An ice formation inside a dormant volcano was inspiration for quilt stitching on “Edge Of Reality”. Additionally, an African American Quilters of Baltimore show and tell presentation about an unconventional assembly method was given an audition in that quilt, also. Robinson is always looking to adapt conventional assembly methods, visual influences, and cultural experiences to inspire applications into unique directions.
Although retired from teaching in public secondary schools, Robinson is the Director of Education for AAQB, and collaborates with faculty and students in Maryland Institute College of Art Quilt Club and virtually for The Baltimore Museum of Art.
Through her three-decade quilt journey, Robinson has participated in dozens of quilt collaborations and made about one hundred solo quilts.
Rosalind has displayed quilts throughout Maryland and Washington, DC including at Stevenson University School Of Design, Owings Mills, MD, Fiber Arts Center of Eastern Shore, Denton, MD and New Community ArtSpace, in Washington. She has participated in quilt lectures/talks where her quilts were displayed at The Walters Museum; The Baltimore Museum of Art; The Hampton House Museum, Towson, MD; The Marietta House Museum, Glenn Dale, MD; and The Reginald Lewis Museum, Baltimore, MD.
As a member of The Benjamin Banneker Museum Quilting Circle, Rosalind participated in the collaborative project to depict the life and legacy of Benjamin Banneker in a quilt. The quilt is on permanent display at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, in Catonsville, MD. Finally, other Rosalind Robinson quilts reside in loving homes of admirers and collectors.
Edge of Reality, Quilt, 2019