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The Millstone
Will Robson was born in Bradford, United Kingdom. He was educated at Eccleshill Secondary Modern School, Bradford, before going on to Bradford Regional College of Art in 1963. While a student at Bradford College, he was taught and influenced by the artist, Trevor Bell. In 1965 Will attended Maidstone College of Art in Kent. While studying at Maidstone College, he came under the tutelage of Roland Piche and David Hall for sculpture and Douglas Glass for photography. Will graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Sculpture/photography in 1968.
During the mid 1970s Will became a partner in Magic Toys UK, the other partners being his wife Margaret, Diane Collett and Peter Watson. Magic Toys was a craft workshop at Harrow Ings in Lothersdale, Yorkshire which produced a range of Victorian jumping jacks and wooden puppets. In addition to this, Will specialised in highly colourful geometric jigsaw puzzles. The quartet were members of the British Toymakers Guild for several years and in 1980 they were awarded the Toymakers Guild Toy of The Year of Award for their range of toys and puzzles.
In 1983, Will and Margaret migrated to Jamaica and established Magic Toys Jamaica Ltd at Sunny Lodge, Walderston. With a newly trained local workforce they initially produced mosaic craft items for the tourist trade and exported a range of tropical themed pins, toys and puzzles to the UK and the USA. Buoyed by the success of the toy making business, Will , Margaret and the Magic Toy Crew started to produce mosaic murals and room pieces for hotels in Jamaica and the Caribbean.NottinghamMaidstoneBradfordJamaicaMagic ToysWill RobsonWalderstonSunny Lodgeartistphotographer
Will Robson Walderston Workshop
These projects are in approximate chronological order starting from 1989 and are as follows:
* Grand Lido Resorts, Negril, Evan Williams, architect and Katrina Marzouca interior designer from Design Collaborative International (DCI), Kingston. Dining area 2mts.x 10mts. This was the artist Tukula Ntama's project and a first for Magic Toys as they helped in its construction. Will also helped in the design side of the project. The piece was a mixed media mosaic showing life in the Jamaican mountains and by the seashore.
* Couples Swept Away, Negril, Jane Issa, interior designer and client: Feathers restaurant. Mosaic fretwork in apex of restaurant roof 10 mts x 3 mts. The fretwork heavily influenced by Jamaican foliage, such as Royal Palms and Traveller's Palm trees. This was the lead artist, Margaret Robson's project, Will and the Magic Toys crew did the construction and installation. Years later, Swept Away commissioned a similar mural for their patio area.
* Jamaica Pavilion Expo92 in Seville, Spain. The pavilion was sponsored by Jamaican Government and the private sector. The concept for the pavilion was a country bus tour taking you through the Jamaican countryside to a village square surrounded by shop frontages which contained the products of the sponsors.The theme was designed by architect Michael Lake and the artwork and construction was done by Will Robson, Margaret Robson and Umbala at the Magic Toys Workshop in Walderston, Jamaica. The scale of the work was such that it had to be shipped over to Spain in five forty foot containers. At the end of the expo the interior of the pavilion was bought by John Rollins to install in Ritz Carlton Hotel Montego Bay, October, 1992.
* Bank of Nova Scotia, Mandeville, Townend and Godfrey main contractors: Painted Mosaic Mural 16mts.x 3mts depicting life and scenery of the Mandeville area of Jamaica. This was done in collaboration with the lead artist Fiona Godfrey.
* Sandals Resorts Jamaica and the Caribbean. Interior designer DCI Internationals' Katrina Marzouca Projects done with them include; Beaches Resort, Negril; Magic Toys did the children's activity centre, and the accompanying mural was done in collaboration with the lead artist Tukula Ntama. After this, more work followed, with a floral mural at Sandals Royal Caribbean with artist Margaret Robson. On the heels of that project, there was more work at Sandals Grande Ocho Rios with Magic Toys and Margaret Robson. Sandals also commissioned similar artworks for their resorts in St Lucia and Antigua, this included floral mosaic fretwork wall pieces.
* Negril Cabins, Interior designer Wanda Stephenson (d.2007): Mosaic fretwork in hotel lobby and restaurant. This was a mosaic fretwork for the hotel's lobby, using birds and flowers indigenous to Jamaica. A couple of years later due to the positive reactions from the client, a similar design was installed in two of their restaurants.
* Grand Lido Braco, Architect Clifton Yapp, Designer Margaret Robson; Mosaic tiles for restaurant: This piece of tile art was geometric, all done in earth colours. This was wooden mosaic which looked like tiles. This project called for approximately one hundred square metres of tiles on the bases of the self service buffet stations.
* Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kingston, Paul Chen Young, client. Mosaic mural depicting scenes of 18th century Kingston in collaboration with lead artist Margaret Robson. 10mts. x 3 mts. in apex of restaurant roof.
* Grace Kennedy building, Kingston (artist Margaret Robson) shipping mural.
* Sunset Beach Resort Montego Bay: interior designer, Wanda Stephenson. Mosaic fretwork done in collaboration with lead artist Margaret Robson. These were figures out of the traditional Jonkonnu parades and used as a backdrop in the hotel's restaurant.
* Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville,Kathrine May, interior designer. Designed and built by Will Robson and the Magic Toy Crew: Fretwork for lobster bar; This fretwork (7mts. x 1.5mts.), depicted an underwater scene with coral, lobster, fish and other sea creatures.NottinghamMaidstoneBradfordJamaicaMagic ToysWill RobsonWalderstonSunny Lodgeartistphotographer
Westgate Montego Bay
* Westgate Shopping Centre Montego Bay: Cosmo Whyte, architect, figurative panels designer Margaret Robson, geometric panels designed by Will Robson and built by the Magic Toy Crew in Walderston.
Fretwork panels were done all around the plaza, at various key points. The panels were all triangular shaped; the two at the entrance to the plaza depicted scenes from Jamaica's history of the Samuel Sharpe rebellion, showing events of before, during and after. At the base they measured 7 mts, and the apex was 3 mts high each. The panels inside the plaza itself detailed stylised sugar cane fields, setting suns in the West, birds in flight, and tops of trees. The largest of the panels had a 14 mts base, and the apex of 4 mtrs.
* Appleton Estate Rum Tour, signs and murals, commissioned by Appleton estate rum tour.
Will Robson and Magic Toys did several steel hand painted rum bottles as tourist photo opportunities as well as building a life size replica of the appleton rum label including a 10 mt. x 4 mt steel banner. A mural depicting the story of Jamaican rum was included in the souvenir shop. The project was commissioned by the Appelton Estate Rum Tour and it is still a popular tourist draw all these years later.
* Runaway Bay, Jamaica Heart Hotel; Interior designer, Wanda Stephenson. Designed and built by Will and Magic Toys,
Mosaic inlaid fretwork headboards and mirror frames. These designs incorporated indigenous Jamaican flowers and fruit (example, breadfruit, and anthuriums) and were built for all fifty six rooms.
* Alpart Jamaica Ltd., Nairn St. Elizabeth Designed by Will Robson and the Magic Toy Crew. Works Canteen: painted fretwork mural on all walls of the canteen. Scenes depicting birds of Jamaica in floral settings.
* Pegasus Hotel, Kingston Designed by Will Robson and the MT. Crew, painted fretwork mural 6mts. x 2mts, in gaming room, depicting Horse Racing.
* Superplus Centre, Mandeville and Christiana Designed by Margaret Robson and built by Will and the MT.Crew, painted inlaid murals depicting market scenes.
* Akbar Restaurant, Montego Bay, fretwork with artist Dawn Scott (d. 2010)
* Coral Cliff Hotel, Montego Bay,Katrina Marzouca interior designer: Designed by Will Robson and the MT. Crew; mosaic inlaid entrance steps depicting tropical foliage.NottinghamMaidstoneBradfordJamaicaMagic ToysWill RobsonWalderstonSunny Lodgeartistphotographer
Sunny Lodge, Walderston 1900
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Sonny Lodge, Walderston 1985
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Sunny Lodge in centre of frame
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Will Robson, Jennifer Davis, Lisa Campbell, Andy Robson, Alma and Junior Leader 1992
Picture taken about 1992 by Diane Collett on her visit to Jamaica
NottinghamMaidstoneBradfordJamaicaMagic ToysWill RobsonWalderstonSunny Lodgeartistphotographer
Nottingham Workshop
2001:
After relocating and establishing his family in Nottingham, he started to do non commissioned work with a range of mosaic murals and aluminium fret-worked mirror frames.
However most of his time has been taken up by doing renovation and building projects for private clients, mainly loft conversions and house extensions which, unfortunately, gives him very little time for his artwork.
He has, however, found time to create Jamaica Land We Love an Android App, ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=appinventor.ai_willrobson.JAMAICA ) along with a website to support the app. The App is a development from a nostalgic collection of Jamaican photographs in the public domain, from contributors to social networking sites and the internet. This forms the basis for his photographic guide to Jamaica; the most visited pages being the "Historical Jamaica" section with almost 5000 photos from early colonial Jamaica to Independence. This is an ongoing project as more photos become digitally available. http://will-robson.smugmug.com/Jamaica/Historical-Jamaica
That was his story to date (2014).
2015:
He started to take more photographs while still doing his day job, a builder.
https://gurushots.com/Will_Robson
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/willrobson
http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/profile/994768/
2018: Wollaton Deer in the Fog. published by National Geographic - Daily Dozen, Mar 05, 2018
Coots walking on Thin Ice in the Fog. Photo was selected to be Digitally showcased in the "Minimalism" exhibition at Art Nordic - Copenhagen, Denmark.( April 2018)
2020:
He's free at last, finally retired from having to do building work for survival.
Onto the Mandala Art Project and a move to Ireland in 2021NottinghamMaidstoneBradfordJamaicaMagic ToysWill RobsonWalderstonSunny LodgeartistphotographerMandala art
Will Robson 2013
Will taking pics in Oxford 2013
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Will Robson 2016
Will looking for the shot in Miller's Dale. Derbyshire Peak District 2016
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Will Robson
Will in his universe
Will RobsonNottinghamMaidstoneBradfordJamaicaMagic ToysWalderstonSunny Lodgeartistphotographer
