By: Mia Angulo
If you are one of many who haven’t figured out your post high school education or career plans, don’t worry. You don’t have to have it all figured out to be successful after high school.
Former Redwood graduate, Jessica Robles( 2001) never really considered herself an artist nor did she see a career in art while in high school. While she has always had a fondness for drawing ever since she was little, she had never taken art classes until she went to Redwood.
Initially after graduation, Robles thought she would be a graphic designer. It wasn’t until she met Richard Peterson, an art instructor at COS, that she found not only her potential as an artist, but her “people” as well.
After attending COS, Robles obtained her BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree at the Kansas City Art Institute located in Kansas City, Missouri and her MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. Both of these degrees are in printmaking. “In grad school (NIU) they force you to teach. They give you a class to teach and I ended up liking it a lot.”
“I never thought that I was going to be an art teacher, I never wanted to be a teacher. I was always shy and quiet. I didn’t think that I’d make a good teacher”
– Robles
Fast forward to today and she has been teaching at COS for 7 years and Fresno State University for the past 5 years.
Robles is really passionate about Printmaking. “ I enjoy how challenging and hands on it is. You can never fully learn everything there is to know about it because there are multiple ways to produce prints and it is always evolving,” she states. She has taught many different types of printmaking such as advanced lithography, advanced intaglio, beginning and advanced screen printing. This semester she is teaching Advanced Drawing at COS and Introduction to Printmaking and Introduction to Color Theory at Fresno State. Outside of teaching Jessica has participated in various print workshops and has presented her work at gallery shows. Locally she has had her own show at Arts Visalia and has participated in Taste the Arts and the South Valley Artist Tour.
There is a lot of emotion tied to Robles’ art. Her art is almost like diary entries that record and help her process the people, places, and feelings she has experienced throughout her life. She also has a love for animals and you are able to see that in her work. She has incorporated creating and selling pet portraits. She uses pictures of a client’s beloved pet and turns it into an amazingly detailed portrait. The detailed portraits take a lot of time however, the end results are amazing!
Being a teacher isn’t her final destination. “My hopes and dreams are to open my own studio or start an artist residency. The residency requires a building or a house where artists from all over the world come and stay with you. It’s kind of like a vacation where you only make art. I would also like to teach workshops. It’s like teaching, but you have more control”, states Robles.
Robles’ talent and passion for art is obvious in her work. The story of how she got there is equally just as important. It’s helpful to know that you don’t have to have it all figured out. Along your journey you may just be one moment or one person away from being pointed down a path that you never even considered.
If you would like to see more of Jessica’s work you can follow her art page on Instagram @jessicaroblesart or visit her website at www.jessicarobles.com.
Mia Angulo
Mia Angulo, ‘24, is in her fourth year of writing and her third year as an editor for the Redwood Gigantea. Mia is a member of the Redwood Law and Justice Academy, Hip Hop and Yoga Club. Mia is passionate about dance and writing and hopes to continue to do both in the future.