We donโt know about you all, but weโre obsessed with Olivia Campbell aka The Curvy Campbell. So, when we came across an abstract illustration of her, we needed to know where it came from. It was then we discovered the plus size artist behind Babes And Botanicals.
The illustrations are described as โbotanical portraits of babes living their best livesโ as a way to โcelebrate marginalized bodies.โ
We caught up with artist Polly Robinson who specializes in lino printing and is the founder of Babes And Botanicals. She dished about her process, goals, and defined body positivity for herself.
Get To Know Polly Robinson of Babes And Botanicals
The Curvy Fashionista:ย Why the concept, โBabes and Botanicals?โ What sparked that interest?ย
Polly Robinson:ย โI had a bit of time off work where I wasnโt so well, and actually during thatย time, I found it quite therapeutic to do some online life drawing classes. Iย found that a really good time just to focus and be absorbed in exactly what I was doing, and I kind ofย forgot about everything that was going onโ [the] pandemic.
โI thought I kind of want to use my images from my life drawing classes to make artwork out of using myย lino printing. I also love plants. Thereโs that combination. I have at least 25 in [my living room]. Using the babes thing comes fromย a desire to want to kind of empower and celebrate bodies of a diverse range.
Bodiesย that arenโt necessarily ideal in society. Bodies that are not represented, bodies thatย arenโt celebrated, bodies that are told [they] shouldnโt exist.โ
โI want to show that they areย beautiful. Your size or how your body looks doesnโt determine theย wonderful qualities you have as a human being.โ
Robinson added that she wanted to increase representation. As a plus size woman, she feels โliving in a larger body isnโt something that should hold you back from living your life.ย And enjoying everything there is to enjoy out there.โ
She revealed, โI experienced myself a lot of stigma and discrimination because of that. It feels like the world wants to hold me back, but I feel like this year I found my place to start. Babes and Botanicals was born from that.โ
The Curvy Fashionista: For now, are you sticking with the linear minimalist design or do youย see yourself expanding into other mediums?ย
Polly Robinson:ย โI think Iโm going to stick with lino printing. I want to explore a bit with the style, but also different colors, different papers because it starts out quite basic and Iโd like to explore it more. I think the other thing that Iโd like is to explore my platform for it to become not justย my outlet, but hopefully create a community. Iโd love to expand it and see where it goes.โ
The Curvy Fashionista:ย Thatโs awesome! I remember you saying you took a life drawing class early this year. Would you say youโre professionally taught and then self-taught?ย
Polly Robinson:ย โSo the life drawing classes that I was taking, they werenโt directed to necessarily improve your drawing. They were specific kinds of classes that were more about the experience of drawing bodies of different shapes, sizes, etc. More of a space for that. So, whereas I have been able to develop my skills for doing that, Iโm mostly self-taught. I do have a fine art degree,ย but in that, I didnโt really do much drawing. It was more conceptual and digital based.โ
The Curvy Fashionista:ย How would you say this journey has impacted you?ย
Polly Robinson:ย โWhen I started it, I wasย taking some time off. My mental health was struggling with lots of different stuff and being able to focusย on creating this platform and the positivity and the growth that I have has really been empowering forย me and given me something really positive to focus onโeven though this year has been really difficult.ย Of what Iโve managed to create, there have been good things that have come out of this year.โ
The Curvy Fashionista:ย What would you say body positivity means to you?ย
Polly Robinson:ย โI think this is a bit of a difficult one at the moment especially on social media. Thereโs a lot of peopleย who I think are in smaller sizes that have been trying to claim the body positive.
For me, itโs more about just not letting how you view or how you think other people viewย your body stop you from doing everything you want to do. [Itโs important to] not have all that negativity that you may feel about your body take up the space in your head that you could be using for so many other things.
I think it can start at that level where itโs more mentality and then you can build on to loving youย and your body and yourself. And thatโs kind of the goal, but I think that the other first step would just beย getting rid of all that negativity.ย โ
The Curvy Fashionista: How do you go about picking a babe as your muse when youโre like trying to doย something new?ย
Polly Robinson:ย โIโve both used images for my life drawing classes. And then also as youโve seen, Iโve used people that I follow on Instagram. I found that Instagramโfor some peopleโ it depends how you use it; it can be a bit ofย a dangerous place. If you create your feed to [see] people who are like you, or makes sure that itโsย diverse, it can actually be really positive. Iโve used people that I have found inspiring for what they doย and create. I chose them to celebrate them and all that they did.โย
The Curvy Fashionista:ย What goals do you have for expanding your art and your shop?
Polly Robinson:ย โI think creating a calendar of the holidays to hit and stuff to make stuff. I want to expand on color range, paper range, different sizes, and people. If I amย going to do more influencers or other people on Instagram involving more interviews with them to incorporate in the pieces. Hopefully, making an onlineย community. Thatโs what Iโd love to do.โ
This interview has been condensed for length and clarity.
