Artist Profile
Robert Borson, a largely self-taught artist, devoted most of his career to writing and editing, including more than 20 years as a speechwriter for corporations and business leaders on the West Coast. Onset of a debilitating chronic illness in 1995 forced him to abandon that path and led to a revival of his latent interest in the visual arts.
Shortly after moving from California to Alabama in 1998 in connection with his wife’s job,  Bob began experimenting with three-dimensional art. He had long enjoyed drawing and painting watercolors as an occasional change of pace from intensive writing projects but had never tried sculpture before. His first creation, the Herald Angel, was cobbled together from objects found around the house. He made it to fill a blank space above an antique church pew in the entryway of his Birmingham home.
Soon other, less-conventional winged sculptures began populating the residence. As word of his unique and versatile art form spread, Bob began undertaking commissioned works such as Surfing Mermaid,  Chef Angel, and  Cat Sommelier. The series of wall-mounted sculptures, which he groups under the name Alabama Angels, has grown to include more than a dozen pieces.
The illness that ushered Bob into sculpture—a condition sometimes referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis—gradually abated over a 10-year period. He currently is working with molding and casting techniques to create a series of bas-relief sculptures.
Artist/sculptor Robert Borson at work in his Birmingham, Alabama studio on the Il Papa wall-mounted sculpture.