Creating things seemed to come naturally for Collin Rosebrook. He grew up on the family farm his great-grandfather, H.J. Deitrich, settled in 1913 near Oklahoma City. “If it was broken, we fixed it,” he said. “You did what needed to be done, and that didn’t include calling a repairman.” The process of fixing and building made Rosebrook adept at working with his hands and fabricating objects, skills he’s relied upon throughout his life. An interest in classical music drew him to Oklahoma State University, but he increasingly found himself in the art studios, creating paintings, sculptures and pots.
An internship at the Stillwater Arts Center led to greater opportunities after the center received a grant for a glass studio. Rosebrook helped build the studio and manufactured the furnaces, equipment and rolling tables for MultiGraphis, the first municipally sponsored free-blown glass studio in the United States. The creativity and resourcefulness of his youth kicked in as he examined the needed components, then learned to fabricate them himself. “Burners cost about $450, but we built them instead for $12.” Rosebrook also started teaching classes during this time.
After graduating with an art degree, Rosebrook worked part time in a variety of fields to support his passion for pottery. Though he has worked with a variety of materials, he calls clay his “home media.” When starting a piece, he does lots of drawings and the media that will best bring the concept to fruition is the one he chooses.
He has a large following of students who take classes at Rosebrook’s own studio, Paseo Pottery. Drawing on his early experience, he renovated a dilapidated dry cleaners into a combination gallery and studio that has been an anchor for the Paseo Arts District for more than 20 years. The studio boasts a 100-cubic-foot kiln, the largest in the area, built by Rosebrook to specifications exceeding that of commercial kilns.
Over the years, the demand for Rosebrook’s work has increased. It has been featured in pottery publications and magazines and is displayed in hospitals and other public buildings around the country. In addition to The Eagle, see page 62, Rosebrook also has large metal installation sculptures at the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma City Community College and Merrel Medley Park in Oklahoma City.