Shauna Robertson

Ink on Paper

The images shown here are from a series loosely titled ‘cross sections’ – of moments, experiences, images, thoughts, feelings. The process of making them is a meditative one, which I specifically adopted as a way of quieting the mind by becoming entirely absorbed in a drawing process, and also as a way of practising being open to insight by remaining free of direction.

I simply show up with ink pens and paper, then become very present and ‘feel into’ mark-making, doing so repeatedly for each mark in turn until there’s eventually a sense of completion. Throughout the process I try to remain loose, playful and non-judgemental, simply following my instincts and inner prompts rather than thinking about what should happen next or trying to create a particular type of image or outcome. Sometimes I like the outcome, sometimes not. But always I feel the benefit of spending time in a state of focused presence and openness. And I find it quite fascinating to watch what emerges at different points in time: sometimes familiar forms or repeating motifs and at other times, marks and shapes that feel entirely new to me.

Shauna Robertson was born in the north-east of England and now lives in the south-west. She writes poems for adults and children and makes artwork, poetry films and poem-pictures. Her artwork has appeared in various books and gallery exhibitions, while her poems have been displayed on public buses, performed by actors, made into comic art, turned into music and widely published in journals, ‘zines and anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic. She has two poetry chapbooks, Blueprints for a Minefield (Fair Acre Press 2016) and Love Bites (Dancing Girl Press, forthcoming in 2018).

More on Shauna Robertson's work can be found on our Links page.