Inside the Box: Assemblage

A Special Workshop with Robin Roberts

  • In This Workshop, You'll Learn:

    Inside the Box is an immersive, one-day creative workshop inviting participants to transform humble found boxes—cigar boxes, or any small to medium size sturdy box—into expressive dimensional mixed media artworks. 

    Through the process of assemblage, we’ll turn the overlooked and ordinary into deeply personal, imaginative art pieces that tell stories, evoke memories, and spark curiosity.

    This workshop celebrates the poetry of found objects and the magic that happens when everyday materials are reimagined through an artist’s eye. No prior experience is needed—just curiosity, playfulness, and a willingness to explore.

    Gain confidence in creative reuse and assemblage techniques in attaching and layering papers and objects. Develop a personal visual language using found materials and tell stories through objects and juxtaposition.

    🎁 Looking for a unique holiday gift?

    Your finished assemblage makes a heartfelt, handmade gift for someone special! Share a little holiday cheer with a one-of-a-kind piece of art that’s sure to bring smiles for years to come.

  • Supply List for Students to Bring:

    This is a studio workshop and students will be using their supplies.

    • Wood or sturdy cardboard box that becomes the base and substrate (like a cigar box)
    • Various personal papers, printed photographs, old postcards
    • Bits and pieces from jewelry, broken clocks, toys, etc. 
    • Assorted acrylic paints and brushes
    • A $20 materials fee to be paid directly to the instructor for additional materials (various found objects, wood pieces, dowels, bass wood sticks, assortment of papers, tools to cut wood pieces, hardware, eye hooks, wire, multiple glues and epoxy)
  • Special Workshop Info:

    • Monday, December 14th from 10:30am-2:30pm
    • Instructor: Robin Roberts
    • Cost $115
    • Max 16 students
    • Level: 1 (beginners) and 2 (intermediate)
    • Age level: adult (18 & up)
    • Parking Info
  • If You Enjoyed This Workshop...

    Artists who have taken this workshop may also want to explore our Mixed Media class with Robin on Thursday evenings.

Register Online

About the Instructor

Robin Sanford Roberts

Robin Sanford Roberts is an artist and theatrical scenic designer working in models and mixed media. She makes art in studio #5 at Art on 30th. She has designed scenery for multiple theatres including the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego Repertory, Denver Center Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage and Broadway.

She holds a degree in Architecture from LSU and a MFA in Scenic Design from UCSD. She also studied at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts, Fontainebleau and at Sir John Cass School of Art, London Polytechnic. Robin teaches and designs scenery for the undergraduate theatre department at USD.

“I have an obsession with old books and other ephemera. The fragments and bits of pieces come together to make a new piece. I enjoy working with pieces from the past that have a history of a previous life.”

Instructor Website

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