We recently connected with Robbie Kaye and have shared our conversation below.
Robbie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.
Many years ago I gave up my job at a university in California and moved to NY to be with my then, fiancee. I kept in touch with my boss, who after years of working together, became a good friend. The relationship in NY became abusive and I had to leave. I gave up my car and apartment and didn’t have any money. I didn’t know where to go. I had been attending school when I left and was lucky enough to have attended NYU for one class in NY, so I kept up my studies. He suggested that I go back to CA and continue school. It seemed so overwhelming and after several more conversations with him, I decided to take his suggestion and drove, again, across country to make it in time for registration for the next school year. I signed dup for more English classes and a photography class. He knew about my artistic side and was always supportive… once, he even let me take three months off to drive across country to a writing fellowship in Vermont. I had very little money and was extremely scared about how I would survive back in CA. My former boss offered me a job as a staff photographer at the university. Aside from school in NY, taking photographs truly saved me from complete despair. I took the job and had the honor of installing my work in offices and in the halls of the university. It was truly a life and soul saver and I will never forget his support… for me as a person and as an artist. We all have angels on our paths… and he was definitely one.
Robbie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I found myself in the art world purely by chance…but we all know, nothing truly is by chance and my story is no different. At a very young age I was exposed to music and at age 7, after nagging my parents, I took piano lessons and it opened a whole new world. Playing piano served as refuge and sanctuary for me. My household wasn’t violent, it was just void of something I needed, which playing the piano provided… I could express myself and lose myself in something so beautiful and soothing. I didn’t feel alone as I connected with each note and each song. My connection continued as I got older and started writing songs at 16, when my parent announced their divorce. I went to college for music, Berklee College of Music in Boston, and studied composition. I was the only girl in most of my classes. That was my second college. I studied traditional music theory first in Georgia. I joined my first rock band when I was 19 and pursued a career in music for the next 25 years. While on the road as a duo, my music partner, who was a photographer, and I embarked on a project, “Skeletons,” We documented objects on the side of the road that had naturally decayed; houses, cars, trees and we even took a jet ski out to photograph a half sunken boat. We did all this while touring and playing in bars, selling our music CDs. When the duo ended I was still interested in photography so I bought a camera and started experimenting myself. I started taking architectural photos. I found the composition of photography refreshing and different than music, but still continued to write and record songs. I started with photo shows in coffee shops and continued on the photography path for many years…creating 4 monographs and exhibiting my work in galleries and museums, including the Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston. Just before the pandemic I started working with resin and mixed media, combining resin, paint and photographs. I never thought of myself as a painter, I thought I just could never do that, so I started painting canvases with motorcycle tires because I didn’t feel confident to use a brush and I loved being a passenger on the back of a motorcycle… I wanted to try and transfer that exhilaration I felt from the road onto the canvas. Finally, after a couple of years I took the plunge and picked up a brush….well more like putty knives and started painting. What I loved about this new medium is that I didn’t have any formal training and everything was and still is an experiment. I mess up and I fix. Sometimes, I mess up so bad that I throw out! But mostly, the muse is generous and when I get out of my own way, she shows me just where to go. I think I am most proud of the fact that I don’t let not knowing things stop me. I’m willing to fail and trust that I can turn things around, at least, a lot of the time. I see my artist work, all of it, as a life journal. It is simply where I talk about what I’m feeling… these mediums give me a voice, one that is sometimes hard to express any other way. I am drawn to telling stories of the underdog, the not so obvious, and the story of beauty all around us and within us. I strive to touch people with my art, my songs, my photography… any way I can by creating something that they resonate with… this is the best compliment of all. Nothing feels better when someone buys my work and installs it in their home…I am now a part of the backdrop of their lives and that is truly an honor. It takes constant effort to keep believing in what I’m creating… art is not different than any other profession in life… it’s a roller coaster with quick turns and lulls and sometimes I stall, usually when I am burnt out and need to refuel. My brand is all about nature and beauty. I love documenting the natural world in any way I can. Recently I started a little podcast called, “Almost Sane on Tuesday.” I co-host it with a very good friend and fellow artist, chef and we talk about the crazy journey of the creative life. We don’t pretend to have answers… we just talk about the wild and nutty ride it sometimes is, hoping that other creatives will feel better and heard and know that they are not alone in their thoughts, trials and tribulations. In the end, I would say that I do what I do with a goal to inspire. The work I create doesn’t mean anything if it’s not touching another in one way or another.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I’m not sure if it is reliance or it’s just that I’m stubborn… but I just turned 64 and I’m still pursuing my career(s). In art and music. I’ve quit the music business several times but also go back to it….even when I truly believe it’s over. Once, I finally felt ok with the notion that I ‘was’ a musician and it was ok to start saying “I used to be…” The very next morning after I thought this, I walk up with 6 song lyrics in my head and went on to write music to them and record them. I think it had something to do with surrendering and taking the pressure off…but I still kept going. I traveled across the country by car, interviewing and photographing older women for my first monograph, “Beauty and Wisdom.” I worked with a book coach and when I was ready I sent out over 50 queries to agents. I received the nicest most supportive rejections because they loved the subject matter. Still, they were rejections. Finally, I decided to publish the book myself and sold out the first 100 copies. I also sold out of the second edition. If I didn’t keep going, the inspiration that the women in this book shared, would have been unseen. I’m grateful for the tenacity instilled in me. It’s not always easy to keep going and keep believing in myself. Sometimes, I plummet and want to give it all up and ask why am I doing this. I’ve come to learn that when that happens, I am usually burnt out and need to stop and be still and refuel… rejuvenate… and then… I come back, more loving and more determined than before.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was that I don’t have to actually ‘pay my dues’ and struggle to get somewhere. Actually, it can be relatively easy with commitment and focus. Not that that doesn’t require effort, because it does, but it doesn’t mean I have to go through some kind of suffering to get where I want to go. I can actually enjoy the ride along the way… celebrate each success, no matter how big.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://robbiekaye.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robbiekaye/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robbiekayestudio/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbiekaye/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKW1Pax3-PGEHGzT3gZs_4Q