About Rowbe

At its heart, Rowbe is an invitation to slow down and reconnect with nature. It celebrates community, mindful living, and a deeper connection to the environment that sustains us.

Inspired by the forms and fragility of calcareous marine life, my sculptures carry traces of an ocean in transformation, shaped by the effects of a changing climate.

Through this unfolding future, I invite reflection on the fragile yet resilient life of our oceans, and on how it is shaped by time and change.

Love,

Robin

Where it all started

In 2024, I graduated from art academy. During my graduation research, my original idea was to explore biobased materials that I could use to make an object. While searching for the direction I truly wanted to pursue, I often visited my parents, who live close to the coast. After storms, I would walk along the shoreline, searching for small treasures and shells.

This sparked a deep fascination with shell material, and I began to explore how I could incorporate it into my biobased research. As I went deeper into the subject, I encountered the issue of ocean acidification and the way it affects shellfish and other calcifying organisms. Shocked by its impact, I traveled to NIOZ (Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research) on Texel, where I interviewed scientists about this phenomenon.

I started to wonder why this topic was barely present in newspapers or everyday conversations, despite having grown up so close to the sea myself. This realization shifted the focus of my project: I wanted to bring attention to this climate-related issue and find a way to open up a public conversation around it.

My aim became to embrace the familiar forms of the shells we know today, while also confronting the possibility that these forms may no longer exist in a hundred years due to changing ocean acidity. Many organisms will not survive if we continue to emit CO₂ at the current rate.

For my graduation project, I created a mixed-media installation combining projected film and ceramic sculptures to magnify what happens beneath the water’s surface. Since then, I have continued to develop this theme through the medium of ceramics, and this process eventually led to Studio Rowbe.

Slowing down together

I’d love to take you into our clay handbuilding workshops, where we explore clay in a calm, intuitive and creative way. Whether you are completely new or already have some experience, the focus is on process, presence and personal expression.

In small, intimate groups, I gently guide you through the basics of handbuilding, while there is space to follow your own rhythm and ideas. It is less about a fixed outcome and more about slowing down, working with your hands and finding a natural flow state.

These workshops are open and welcoming spaces to create and connect with others in a relaxed atmosphere.

For more events and upcoming workshops, please take a look at our events agenda.