So much of a person can be read in the face — in the eyes, the mouth, the way the face contorts when happy, anxious or concerned.
Robin Rossman spent a lifetime reading those cues. As a counselor in the mental health field, she spent her career listening to their concerns and experiences, watching people’s faces for the tiny changes with different emotions.
That study has been integral as she’d started sculpting.
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“I spent years watching people. They’d come in with their joys and sorrows and secrets,” Rossman said. “I have a such a history of watching people as they talk about the things going on in their lives. I really like to express my artwork that way.”
The Greenwood resident has found the joy and energy of creating art in retirement. Her figurative sculptures capture the breadth of the human condition, revealing moments of happiness, concern, sadness and a myriad of other emotions.
Rossman will exhibit a collection of her contemporary sculptures at the Southside Art League gallery this month, displaying a variety of works in bronze, clay, metallic oxides, acrylics and wax.
“I just believe this is my life’s work. I’ve always kind of known it. This is my heaven,” she said.
Each of the sculptures set up around the Southside Art League’s Off Broadway Gallery offer insight into a different life. The triumph of a woman holding her head into a breeze is represented in the aptly titled, “Wind and Joy.” A sly happiness can be read in the smile of “Spanish Woman.”
Weary seriousness exudes from “Meat Market Man from Zagreb.” The love of a couple nearing 50 years of marriage comes through in “49th Anniversary.”
Even the feisty spirit of a feline can be found in “Mr. Cat with Attitude.”
Those works, and many more, have their roots in a single moment from Rossmany’s childhood. A sculpted bust of her grandmother is what first called out to her artistic spirit.
The piece had been made by her uncle, and it won an art competition in Gary in the early 1940s. Rossman was only about 3 or 4 years old, but she remembers that clay bust when she would visit her grandmother. The intricacy and detail was mesmerizing. She was inspired.
“There was a moment that I knew I could do that, if I chose to. It was like a voice inside my head telling me I could do this,” “I’ve just always believed I’m a sculptor, and I could do that if I went down that path.”
Rossman studied art in high school, but upon reaching college, her parents convinced her to pursue a more stable field of study. She focused on nursing and mental health, earning a master’s degree from Indiana University. For 40 years, she worked as a mental health practitioner at IU Health, helping people struggling with different issues.
Often, she intervened with those who were in crisis. Reading the emotions of those she worked with helped lay the foundation for her transition to sculpting.
“Looking back at that, I feel it was the preparation for the work I do now,” she said.
Rossman’s interest in art never left, even throughout her work as a counselor. As she was nearing retirement, she considered what she wanted to do next. And to her, following her love of art was the clear option.
“I reached an age where I thought, if I was going to do this, I’d better do it now or never do it,” she said.
After retiring in 2014, Rossman started taking sculpting classes at the Indianapolis Art Center, as well as a course on drawing anatomy. She trained with nationally known sculptors, honing her skills and gaining a better feel for working with clay.
Her preference is to sculpt using earthen or water-based clay.
“I feel like it’s alive, as opposed to more synthetic plasticine clay, which is more chemical. I like the old-fashioned way of hollowing it out, letting it dry and then firing it, just like they did 3,000 years ago,” she said.
This year has presented a unique challenge to Rossman. Not only have many area art shows and events been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but art centers and public kilns have been closed as well, leaving her without a place to fire her work.
Finding models to sculpt has also been difficult.
“I’m always looking for people who’d be willing to sit. The way I operate now is, I take pictures of different angles of the person, and then I take caliper measurements. If someone will come in for 30 or 40 minutes, I can get that in a one-shot deal,” she said.
Rossman will feature about 15 sculptures of all sizes, colors and styles. Having the opportunity to display her work throughout October at the Southside Art League is an important one, Rossman said.
Her son is helping her put together a virtual tour of the show, which will go online in a few weeks. Featuring photographs of her sculpture may show potential buyers what a piece looks like, but to truly understand it, it helps to see it in person.
“There’s nothing like seeing artwork in person,” Rossman said. “My high school teacher said to the class, I’d rather have a piece of original artwork you can see in person. It’s 1,000 times richer than a print.”
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Robin Rossman exhibition
What: A showcase of sculptures by Rossman, a Greenwood artist who creates with a variety of materials, including bronze, clay, metallic oxides, acrylics and wax.
Where: Southside Art League Off Broadway Gallery, 299 E. Broadway St., Greenwood
When: Through Oct. 31
Gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday through Tuesday.
Information: southsideartleague.org
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