I'm over in Gainesville, GA, USA for this lovely interview with Rachel. In her bio she explains that her artwork resides between emptiness and definition - a place that is
debatable. A shape possesses the character to be something specific to
one person, and something completely different to another depending on
the experiences they hold from their life. This encourage discourse -
facilitating storytelling and a sense of community.
Rachel focused her concentration towards Scientific Illustration; however, she made a
conscious move to abstraction. Her work is still based on the scientific
- cellular structures, anatomical imagery, and natural forms. I think you can see this in her work below.
Describe yourself in five words and how would your friends describe you (in five)!!
Me - Observant, thoughtful, creative, steadfast, dependable
Friends - Intelligent, thoughtful, creative, reflective, personable
How has work and been for you this year – anything new on the boil for 2012.
I had a large solo exhibit for emerging artists at the Quinlan Visual
Arts Center in April that was really meaningful to me. My great
grandfather started the center long ago as a place for the local art
club to meet, exhibit artwork, and increase community involvement with
the arts. I feel as if I am continuing in his legacy.
Recently, I signed a licensing agreement with a company, and am anxious to get that started.
For 2012, I’m curating and showing in an exhibit in February that
features artwork of trees. Then my focus will be on applying to more
galleries and shops in my area to expand the business. My goal is to
transition to artwork full time.
What do you love most about what you do and is there a down side
I love creating and putting things together from seemingly disparate
elements, seeing how they fit together best. When people see my
artwork, I love to hear their feedback, and see what they think the
painting is about. Part of my artwork is about encouraging creativity,
community, and sharing with one another.
Downside - Starting out, not making as much steady money as a 9-5 job.
Also, artmaking takes a lot of time, and people generally take that for
granted with being used to buying cheap imported machine made stuff.
What are you most happy with in your portfolio
Suspension, Shuttlecock, Macrophage, and Nephesh
What’s your ideal working day like
I haven't had very many of these, so this is what I would love to do -
Get up early, work up until lunch, walk downtown to eat, come back and
work until night, and put "work" stuff away to relax. Be able to
accomplish a lot, but not feel rushed like I have to be somewhere else
soon. I want to be relaxed, more in the moment, and able to wander
naturally.
3 items you love or hate
LOVE – books, knitted blanket my grandmother made for me, sketchbook and cover by Lolita from
DailyThreads
Would you like to learn anything new
I love learning all sorts of things. I have so many interests, I feel
like I should try to focus on one style. However, I would love to start
using encaustic in my work.
Where’s your own favourite place to work and why
With my crazy schedule, I love working on smaller pieces that I can
draw out or start as paintings, and then go more in depth with layering
abstract embroidery. I can take the sewing portions anywhere with me in
my bag, whether that be downstairs to a comfy chair, bouldering in the
woods with my family, or out and about the city. Being portable makes
it easier to find time to work on them, since they take so long.
How much time do you or can you give to making a piece of work
I work for my husband’s tree care company,
Global Tree Preservation,
and another company full time in addition to my artwork, so my time is
broken up more than I would like. I won’t sacrifice quality to quantity
though. Right now, my smaller abstract embroidery works are spanning
between 1 hour and 8 hours on a piece.
Who do you think I should interview next - Heather McCaw
Thanks so much for giving me some of your time Rachel, it's been really interesting finding out about who's behind the work that I discovered! Wishing you lots of success for 2012 and your future!
Rachel's links :
Etsy
Facebook
www.globaltreepreservation.com
Rachel's Blog
