Robin Cusdin with a selection of her collage work.

ROBIN Cusdin’s enthusiasm for her art is catching; her enthusiasm for life even more infectious if that’s possible. Outgoing, a flamboyant dresser – the collage artist loves jewellery and accessories – not the diminutive kind either and she’s absolutely mad about colour.

The fact she was born with a congenital hip condition and has also been forced to use a wheelchair and mobility scooter for 15 years due to arthritic problems in the knees, is almost incidental. Where many people might have flagged, Robin has done the opposite finding joy in every corner. Importantly, for the past 10 years she has let her artistic streak run riot.

“At school I was considered good at art but my father wouldn’t hear of me pursuing a career at Elam School of Fine Arts. Instead I became a bank teller. Then along came marriage, a family and life in general which pushed my art into the background.”

It wasn’t until Robin and husband Peter were living in Whangarei that Robin finally found time to indulge her creativity and imagination. “We had a huge studio in the house and I thought now I’ve got space and time to do something.

“On selling the Whangarei property we then built our dream home, Robin’s Nest, high on the hill above Oakura Bay overlooking Whangaruru Harbour,” she says. “I had a clear vision of the design and how I wanted it decorated – bold, colourful and open.”

It was there that Robin really began exploring collage work in earnest, branching out from greeting cards to larger framed artworks. Confined to the indoors for much of the time, she began experimenting and gradually developed different styles. “Once I get started I don’t stop and I often work far into the night.”

The couple spent five years in Oakura before deciding it was a little too isolated especially in winter.

“We had an apartment in Auckland and moved into that then began looking for something with a garden. We have kept our lovely home in the North as a holiday retreat but also let it to self-catering groups who can choose either the three bedroom house with three bathrooms or the studio apartment with en suite and cooking facilities.”

Back in Auckland the Cusdins found the perfect Remuera cottage to fit their retirement lifestyle and today Robin’s artistic talents are evident in the eclectic décor which features her own work as well as many antiquities left to her by her father.

“My grandfather was a prominent Auckland photographer and around the turn of the century owned galleries in Auckland’s CBD, Whangarei and Dargaville. Some of his pieces found their way to me.” Moreover, Robin has cleverly managed to blend her own taste with that of her of forebears achieving a sense of rich, classic style and a hint of folk art all in the right places.

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Peter Cusdin surrounded by his model ships.

Vibrant and stylistic, Robin’s own work has gradually moved in new directions. In particular her busy, happy collage designs for children’s rooms, which follow a wide variety of themes, have been extremely popular.

Recently, she gained the consent of artist Kelly Thomson to use one of her fashion faces as the model for a series of fabulous collage hats. “I use the same face each time but the hats differ enormously. I just keeping adding to them until I am satisfied that the work is complete.”

Then there are Robin’s gorgeous poppies and her black and white creations – one look at the intricate twist and turns of design and one could be forgiven for thinking she works from a template but not so.

She just cuts and creates as she goes using designer gift papers, coloured card and other trims and accessories.

As a result Robin says she never knows just how the end result will look until it is finished.

Tulips and poppies are a favourite subject of Robin's. (Right) Children's collage make popular gifts.

“Sometimes I’m very happy, other times I might think I’ve overdone it and that piece is put aside. At the moment I’m enjoying the hat work because it provides scope to be creative with trims and fabrics too. On the other hand they are slightly harder to frame because of the three dimensional effect.”

And while Robin creates so does Peter but in an entirely different way. Visitors will often find the couple sandwiched into a small study where Robin is surrounded by paper and card while Peter works under a bright light and magnifying glass intricately piecing together model ships.

His tiny but impressive showroom contains metre-long models each of which has taken several years to complete.

“I became interested about 10 years ago and my first model was the Endeavour which took 12 months just to complete the rigging and five years in total to finish,” he says.

“Since then I’ve completed a German crab boat, a Norwegian tug and a Cowells yacht as well as a large, suspended Tiger Moth plane.”

While Peter’s work is largely for his own satisfaction, Robin has a market for hers, particularly among parents and grandparents seeking stimulating art works for children’s rooms.

“It gives me a great deal of pleasure when I hear how well received the pieces are and I’m delighted that my work is has such gift appeal when it comes to birthdays and Christmas.

“However, I suspect there are many more avenues to explore and perhaps I am just beginning.”

To see Robin’s work online visit www.robinsnest.co.nz