Robyn's Journey
Robyn is an author-illustrator, educator, and former advertising creative director with a lifelong passion for blending multiculturalism, art, and magical storytelling.
She earned a BA from Middlebury College (Vermont, US) in Studio Art and Biochemistry and a Master’s in English literature from Oxford University’s Lincoln College (Oxford, England) and Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School
of English (Vermont, US).
She studied fine art in France, graphic design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and achieved an MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA, US).
Robyn's career and education includes life as an ex-pat in Asia and Europe and spans roles in advertising agencies across New York, Philadelphia, Luxembourg, and Germany. Founder of the award-winning ad agency Yellow Dog Design Group in Philadelphia, Robyn has also been a professor of creative thinking and art and design at Villanova University (PA, US), and several other universities in the Philadelphia area. She has additionally taught art in high schools and extends her love of working with young people by mentoring aspiring artists through her consultancy, Art Careers and Education (ACE).
Now dedicated full-time to illustration, Robyn is writing and illustrating children's books, along with illustrating for the editorial market and surface design applications.
Professional Affiliations
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Recent President of Artists Equity Philadelphia:
Curated in-person and online exhibitions -
member of Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCWBI)
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member of Rhyming Writers, Busy Beavers picture book writing critique groups
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member of Society of Illustrators (SOI)
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member 12 x 12 Picture Books
Awards in Art and Writing
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Mentorship through Picture Book Rising Stars
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Our Bodies, Ourselves exhibition, Artists Equity, juried show, first place for painting
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Women's Art Initiative annual exhibition, juried show, second place, for painting
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Best of Philly, first place for best children's program awarded to Spark Park
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The Sketch Club, juried show, second place for print
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Metropolitan Life full scholarship to the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, for fiction