🎉 Please welcome Emily Robinson, Director of Creative Flow Art Center. 🎉
We can’t wait to see Creative Flow Art Center thrive in Fridley! While Rumriver Art Center’s main location remains in the historic Old Milk Factory in Anoka, we’re thrilled to expand into the incredible Fridley community—an area full of creativity and possibility.
“With Emily’s involvement in the RRAC community and her educational background and experience, it was an easy choice for us to have her direct our new Fridley location! The hiring process at RRAC is all about timing… and this is no exception. Everything fell into place when it needed to, and I can’t help but feel that it was meant to be.” – Makilyn Koep, Executive Director of Rumriver Art Center
Get to know Emily and her passion for the arts below:
Art has always been an essential part of Emily’s life. She took several art classes through community education and enjoyed drawing people she saw on magazine covers—mostly musicians. At some point, possibly through community education, she had the opportunity to try using a potter’s wheel. To say she fell in love would be an understatement.
During her senior year of high school, her art teacher allowed her to take all of her electives in the art room. Every hour, except for English and band, was spent playing with clay. This is where she learned to process reclaimed clay and began honing the basic pottery-making skills of using a kick wheel, wedging, throwing, trimming, and glazing.
Emily continued to pursue her dream of becoming an artist and earned a bachelor’s degree in Art Education with a concentration in ceramics, extra studio classes, and a certificate in adaptive art. However, by the time she completed her degree, she couldn’t see a clear path to becoming a full-time artist and grew a bit disheartened. She decided to go into sales and follow wherever her partner, Mike’s, career took them. As she figured out her new direction, Emily, in essence, left art behind.
Three years, three states, and three jobs later, on a lunch break from her job in furniture sales, she walked to a nearby camera shop and bought an affordable DSLR camera. Money was tight, and the camera wasn’t exactly in the budget, so she hesitated to show Mike when she got home. Why she thought he would be anything but supportive remains a mystery to her. After his initial shock and disappointment that she hesitated to tell him, Mike’s response was perfect: “You need this.” He was right. For Emily, having a creative outlet was a necessity.
After several years of selling furniture, Emily decided to make a career change and went back to school. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management and worked for companies that supported people with disabilities. One year, the president of her company, who was her Secret Santa, gifted her an art box set, told her she had real talent, and encouraged her to paint more. This was the nudge Emily needed to start oil painting again. Soon after, she began leading painting classes at company events and trained to become a graphic facilitator for person-centered planning.
Another pivotal moment in Emily’s path back to art was when Mike surprised her with a two-hour pottery wheel class. It had been 16 years since she last used a potter’s wheel and it came back to her like riding a bike During the class, when the instructor demonstrated how to finish a piece, they unknowingly used one of Emily’s as an example, assuming it was their own. Mike whispered, “Isn’t that one yours?” She had other pieces and didn’t want to bring any attention to the matter. She was simply thrilled about the mix-up.
The following year, Mike and Emily bought a house in Coon Rapids. One day, while exploring the area, they drove past an old building covered in paintings. Emily immediately exclaimed, “What was that?!” They circled back and discovered it was the Rumriver Art Center. Excited about the possibility of joining an art community, Emily attended a few free Art Chats and later submitted a painting to the center’s open call, “All About Birds.” Her owl oil painting was accepted.
When she dropped of her piece, Susan, one of the founders of Rumriver Art center and a whirlwind of energy, emerged from the office and said, “I love seeing what people bring in!” She mentioned they were looking for teaching artists, especially someone to teach pottery on the wheel. Emily couldn’t believe her ears. Timidly, she replied, “I have an art education degree with a concentration in ceramics. It’s been a while, but I could probably teach wheel classes.” She was hired as a teaching artist and began leading one-time wheel classes. She loved teaching and encouraging students as they learned a new skill. Seeing how small moments had impacted her own journey, she wanted to provide that same experience for others.
Emily experienced a profound loss. Mike, her husband, life partner, and best friend of 26 years, died. In the depths of grief, she gained a greater appreciation for life. She realized how short it was and what really mattered. She could no longer ignore that her life’s purpose was to be an artist and to help build community through art. Looking back, she saw that every experience had been an essential building block for this next chapter.
Emily is so excited to get to know you and excited to bring people together through art regardless of anyone’s experience or perceived ability.
We hope you’ll join Rumriver and Emily in this exciting expansion, becoming an integral part of building a creative, inclusive, supportive, and enriching art community in Fridley. You can contribute by attending classes and group activities, sponsoring a gallery show or event, making a one-time or recurring donation of any amount, helping fund scholarships, attending fundraisers, and spreading the word to your friends, family, and even strangers about the new art center.