<![CDATA[ROBINHESSE.COM - ROBIN HESSE\'S BLOG]]>

<![CDATA[ROBINHESSE.COM - ROBIN HESSE\'S BLOG]]>Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:24:32 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[December 7, 2017]]>Thu, 07 Dec 2017 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.robinhesse.com/robin-hesses-blog/december-7-2017

The Inspiration of Mauna Kea

The sky at night usually lends itself to photography rather than drawing, but this is probably because there is an element of the scientific in this subject. It is sometimes easier to make a more figurative rendition rather than an imaginative one if one is gazing out of the aperture of a telescope. Stargazing is creative - we want to find a truth of some kind...a real place, a real co-ordinate, a new and true star. Our eyes and telescope are more useful in this case than the fastest spaceship. And one of the places prone to the imagination of solitary artists like me who study the night sky with a view that we are not alone in the universe - is Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

The Mauna Kea Observatories (MKO) are independent astronomical research facilities and large telescope observatories that are located at the summit of Mauna Kea, in Hawaii. The facilities are located in a 525-acre special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct", which is located within the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. The Astronomy Precinct was established in 1967 and is ideal because of its dark skies, good astronomical seeing, low humidity and and almost equatorial location.

I had read about Mauna Kea being a great "Dark Sky Site" to visit. But it actually became more real to me when I began work in the Judith Merril Collection of Science Fiction at Toronto Public Library and listened to librarian and science fiction expert Lorna Toolis - who was also my boss there at the time - share her interest for this place. Her enthusiasm and also that of my other colleagues there in general did it - and something clicked. The actual possibility of travelling to Mauna Kea became feasible. If this place was a real travel goal for for the science fiction library experts in Merril, then as an artist, I could go too.

Now, aside from this, a strange coincidence also happened recently. As I was checking my past blogs the other day, I realized that Jon Lomberg, who's fabulous Voyager project is housed in that same Merril Collection, had commented favorably on one of my blog posts, and offered me some encouragement.

Jon Lomberg is only the world's most experienced designer in creating messages for other times and other beings. The famous Voyager project is his creation and is an amazing example of what his work is about. Lomberg also just happens to live in Hawaii...on the slope of a volcano in south Kona, where he still makes art and looks at the stars.

So, my drawings are really tiny. They are usually detailed renderings in pencil on archival paper, and I try in my own small way, to express my ideas of a simultaneously intimate and imperious universe. But Jon Lomberg makes big art. He is the "Big Picture" man, and has been really out there for some time, inviting others to share his magnificent vision. I am sitting quietly at my desk writing this blog after finishing some archival enclosures for some of the wonderful treasures like Jon Lomberg's famous works that have recently been catalogued by the librarians here who have dedicated a lifetime to Science Fiction. I am a cataloguer in a different way. I take great pride in cataloguing my drawings of stars, not unlike the way librarians catalogue books.

Thanks to Merril and the librarians, I'm inspired. I will pursue my quest to visit Mauna Kea, a place where sky meets earth and where perhaps beings from other worlds hover fleetingly to get a first glimpse of ours.

]]><![CDATA[November 19th, 2017]]>Sun, 19 Nov 2017 20:40:03 GMThttps://www.robinhesse.com/robin-hesses-blog/november-19th-2017<![CDATA[May 02nd, 2016]]>Mon, 02 May 2016 20:45:15 GMThttps://www.robinhesse.com/robin-hesses-blog/may-02nd-2016Goodbye Canadiana...

I work in an amazing setting ...at least I did until yesterday. We closed our doors to the public on Saturday April 31, 2016 officially, and unofficially we were open for one more day - Sunday May 1.

This beautiful place housed thousands of rare and fragile items that cannot be replaced anytime soon. Many of them are going to another location and will be used there, but no one could ever replace the area in our department where most of our materials were shelved - we called it the Canadiana Stacks Collection. There in the Stacks, we worked in the quietude of thousands of conserved rare items - adding them to the collection, repairing them - sometimes discussing in detail the more interesting of them between ourselves. What to do with a Land Grant - How to catalogue the signed version of Margaret Atwood's "Cat's Eye", or what the best way might be to conserve (archivally protect) some original art prints by Emily Carr and edited by Doris Shadbolt. We delighted in this collection that took over 50 years to amass...We shared a kind of wonderful cameraderie as "library church mice", working under the gently humming lights into the later hours of the evening at times - and then locking our precious items up for the night - every night.

We in Canadiana had opportunities to work in a "special" library collection that few information people would even dream of .. it was exhilerating and inspiring for me as a library worker - and certainly as an artist - to be a part of the Canadiana Dept.

Like the others who were my teammates, I will never for get my years here.

]]><![CDATA[YOU GO GIRL!!]]>Mon, 21 Mar 2016 19:06:35 GMThttps://www.robinhesse.com/robin-hesses-blog/you-go-girlI am so proud of myself! I now have a Facebook and Twitter account..and I am finding to my delight, that I can actually write and communicate ! Now I see ...Now I finaly get it.! I used to read others' blogs and sigh enviously...thinkng that I, Robin, the "luddite cum laude" - would NEVER be tech savvy enough to do the same - but here I am...blogging away to all of you! I think I could even learn how to drive, the way this is going...

My next topic will be about BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF ... not writing things or making art just to get noticed, but because you truly believe in yourself and your subject and your audience.

]]><![CDATA[March 19th, 2016]]>Sat, 19 Mar 2016 19:45:01 GMThttps://www.robinhesse.com/robin-hesses-blog/march-19th-2016Robin 's Blog

This is my first blog . As an artist...I'm trying to navigate all these social Media platforms to promote my work, reach out to the right people etc. etc. and I've discovered one thing.. Either people really use social media to promote their work or they do not use it all and choose to stay far away from it!

I would say that it works either way for the artist, but better to stay away from it unless you are willing to jump in with both feet... inability to tweet, blog etc. to one's advantage can be worse than leaving it out of your plan!

So here I go... I'm taking a course at OCADU - actually in the Digital Media program at night with James Fowler... prof. who really knows his stuff!! Wow! I want this amazing job at Toronto Public Library in the Dept. of Preservation and Digitization - where I work. As an artist, it would be such a fabulous challenge to work there with rare materials..you know, historically important children's book illustrations, significant Canadian content, art catalogues, etc. Yesterday, I saw an Emily Carr first edition containing a repro set of of her original charcoal drawings ...it was gorgeous!! So inspiring and brings me closer to my own work. I love other artist's work who's subject is the night sky too, but most are in the U.S.

Anyway, have a look at some of my Dark Sky Drawings...What are your thoughts?

]]><![CDATA[Why I am PERSEVERING in writing a blog]]>Sat, 19 Mar 2016 18:27:25 GMThttps://www.robinhesse.com/robin-hesses-blog/why-i-am-persevering-in-writing-a-blog

I am persevering in blog writing because i think my work deserves an audience. Many years ago when I was an art student, a beloved prof. of mine once told me that my work will always have a "small following"... and that was waaaaaay before the advent of Twitter and Facebook - even before email! Now, in terms of small, I imagine that what was meant by that is that my work will always be "adjacent to what is generally celebrated.."
But I want others to see the drawings...
Certain children's book illustrators like Chris Van Allsburg have always captivated me.. (no wonder - I have worked in the midst of illustrated material for years) but I am also struggling to move away from that comfortable setting ... for instanceI love this certain U.S. artist's drawings of the night sky..
and I'm not saying who it is.
But see if you can guess that artists' name by looking at my work...

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