For Tujunga resident Robin M. Cohen, art has been a dream since early childhood. Born into a family saturated with dance and music, she learned early about motion, grace and beauty.

In her early 20s, she studied dance and voice, performed in Japan and Las Vegas and was well on her way to musical theatre when her first daughter, Rebekah, came along.

After a few years enjoying motherhood, Robin felt the need to create art again. "I felt like I was about to explode," she remembers. Enrolling in Pasadena City College, she took on 18 units in a variety of artistic expressions - music, movement and finally painting.

"I was the first tactile artist in my family."

Looking around Robin's home I found plenty of tangible evidence of her art, from detailed ink sketches and acrylic paintings of horses, to freeform sculpted stone.

Eight years after Rebekah, a second daughter was born. Jamie was a girl after her mother's heart, with a hunger for art. "She was painting by age 8," says Robin proudly. "She has a sense of design that a lot of designers wish they had."

Robin worked in other fields too. For11 years she helped out in a family business dealing with sporting events and auctions. While at one event, she happened to meet a vendor selling a Joe Montana jersey, hand-painted with the football player's portrait.

The woman was looking for an artist who could paint more of them. Stepping up, Robin said, "I can do it."

Using acrylics, Robin started painting incredible portraits of athletes directly onto their jerseys; masterpieces that the vendor sells for up to $1,000.

About two years ago, Robin attended the Thousand Oaks Art Festival. She met a stone carver named Michele Chapin who had some of her sculptures displayed. She asked if Robin would like to try her hand at carving.

Hesitantly Robin sat down and picked up a chunk of soapstone and a file. "I can do this," she thought.

That was all it took. The art form captivated her. "I'm going to do this!" she decided and began free form lessons at Chapin's Stone Works Studio in Ventura. "She tutored me... guided me. She became my mentor."

Robin sold her first piece before it was even finished.

Today, soapstone and alabaster carving is done with pneumatic tools more often than a hammer and chisel.

Robin brought out her collection of chisel tips, files and riffles. She demonstrated how the sculptor sort of "swoops" the tool against the stone. "We really just skim the surface."

From pneumatic chisels, to hand files, to finer and finer grades of sandpaper, a carver works until the surface is as smooth as porcelain. A final oil sealant finishes the piece.

Robin mounts her work on chiseled slabs of black marble with removable pins. The pin allows the piece to be rotated so all sides can be seen.

"Go ahead and touch them," she says. "My work is for touching." While the stone is cool and smooth, Robin assures me that it can get very hot sitting out in the sun. At a recent show in Sierra Madre during a heat wave, they became "almost too hot to touch."

Probably the most eye catching piece of sculpture on Robin's coffee table is an eight-inch tall ivory and pale pink work entitled "Divine Femininity." More than mildly suggestive of a woman's center of pleasure, Robin admitted that it didn't start out that way.

"While I was carving the stone, a chunk just fell out. The soft groove that was left seemed to glorify femininity." Robin laughs and shrugs. "Hey, if Georgia O'Keefe can do it, so can I!"

Another piece in rare Orange Utah alabaster entitled "Like Coral" suggests an underwater seascape. Another orange beauty is called "Infinity."

A curving, proudly arching piece called "Equine Spirit" reminded me of a carousel horse.

"Inner Light" resembled an Olympic torch twisting in the wind. A small jade-colored piece was titled "Growth."

(Check out the photos above, double click to enlarge.)

Robin's stone sculptures flow with a grace that recalls her early years in dance. They are sensual, soothing and celebrate life.

When asked if it was hard for her to sell her work, she smiled and shook her head. "They're like children, you can't keep them forever. I create my art for others. I want people to enjoy them."

Robin M. Cohen will be showing some of her art on June 29 th at the Wine Bistro in Studio City from about 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Anyone who stops by the restaurant can enjoy a brunch, a wine tasting or some afternoon jazz music while savoring the sculptures and visiting with their congenial creator.

The Wine Bistro is located at 11915 Ventura Blvd in Studio City.

Robin will also be exhibiting her sculptures and paintings at the Creative Arts Center Gallery in Burbank, located at 1100 W. Clark Ave, near Olive Avenue and Victory Boulevard, from August 1 - 29, with sculptor Victor Picou and photographer Bruce Burr.

For more information about either show, call Robin at 626-260-5552.

To learn more about the artist and her work, visit her Web site at www.RobinMCohen.com or her blog page at http://ArtworksFromRobinsNest.blogspot.com