THE GENEROSITY OF PAUL ROBBERT

November 7, 2022

When Paul Robbert retired from Western Michigan University in 1998, where he had been a professor of art for over forty years, he built a papermaking mill in a small space in the back garage of the Park Trades Center, an industrial building in downtown Kalamazoo that houses artist’s studios. Here he continued making work, including large handmade paper pieces created using special oversized equipment he designed and built himself. He rigged up pulleys to the ceiling to hoist the giant paper moulds he used to form sheets. In 2005, when our director Jeff Abshear gathered a group of artists and writers in his garden to sign the Articles of Incorporation for the creation of the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, Paul was one of the first invited. He was all in from the start!

The first workshops the KBAC offered in papermaking, linocut printing, and bookbinding, were held in Paul’s studio in the back of the building and Jeff’s studio on the fourth floor. When the large space at the front entrance became available, we took a big risk and moved in. At this point Paul decided to close his small studio and transfer his equipment into the new facility. He designed the floorplan for the papermaking area to make the most efficient use of the space, and then we received a grant from the Arts Council to dig up the floor and put in drains. 

In addition to being an artist Paul was a talented engineer. He designed and built our hydraulic press, our drying press, and most of the other equipment we use in our paper studio. He had a gift for mechanics and when the time came to move his large equipment into the new space, he would surprise us when we arrived in the morning to discover he had already set very heavy pieces into place using pulleys and a crowbar.  

Paul demonstrated a talent for art at an early age, setting up his easel to paint on the streets of Holland, MI, a sight not often seen at that time. He was innovative in his early explorations of abstract painting and printmaking, and his work was shown nationally and internationally. Throughout his life he was a dedicated mentor and advisor to other artists and students. We think Paul would be proud and amazed to see what we have accomplished in the years since his passing in 2008.

• He would be thrilled by our expanded and improved studio space, retail store, and gallery, remodeled with several Capital Improvement grants from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.

• He would be excited to know we have received two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and to see the list of artists and writers from all around the country who have visited us over the years to exhibit in our gallery, read in our Poets in Print series, or teach a workshop.

• As a great enthusiast for education, he would be happy to know that thousands of elementary, middle school, high school, and university students have worked at the KBAC and learned about the arts of the book, including handmade paper, using the equipment he designed.

Jeff, Katie and Lorrie

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