Corell

About the Artist

Back in 1987 while working on my BFA in sculpture I worked as a Patternmaker for Architectural Facades Unlimited, a company that makes architectural cast stone products. I was one of Frank Bracken's first full time employees, and together we would make a pattern, the molds, and then cast the part, deliver, and install it. All based from Frank's one car garage sized studio. Eventually as more employees were hired the company moved to a 15,000 sqf building and I eventually became lead patternmaker. In 1993 I finished an MFA in spatial arts at San Jose State University, where I also taught three dimensional design. My thesis exhibition included works cast in Bronze and Aluminum as well as wood, fabricated stainless steel and mold formed fiberglass. Most of my undergraduate work had been lost wax cast bronze while my post-graduate cast metal was primarily sand cast. I had gotten to know one of the owners of a local sand foundry and upon graduating I began an apprenticeship in wood patternmaking. The shop I worked at has been in business since 1919 and still had the original lathe, bandsaw and joiner as well as many newer tools. I was fortunate to have a boss who was a bit cantankerous and disliked sawdust in the air in the late afternoon when I was alone in the shop. So I was taught how to use a chisel and spokeshave, and given the time to practice and perfect those skills. The shop also had a brass and aluminum foundry and as an apprentice I was expected to make certain tools as part of my training.

I have since worked at four other pattern shops and owned my own architectural pattern business, employing one other patternmaker and a moldmaker. Somewhere during that time I bought a second hand chainsaw with an Alaskan mill and started collecting wood I milled from local trees. This wood has become the foundation for Robin Corell Furniture. It is environmentally responsible furniture designed by an artist, built with old world craftsmanship.