"I did not direct my life. I didn't design it. I never made decisions. Things always came up and made them for me. That's what life is." — B. F. Skinner

“Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist.” — René Magritte

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” — Albert Einstein

Originally from California, Rachel has spent most of her adult life as a teacher and clinician. In 2023 she stumbled upon Nicholas Wilton’s Creative Visionary Program and suddenly found herself painting for the first time, every day, and loving it. She currently lives in central Virginia with, in spite of her best efforts, an ever-growing menagerie of rescue cats.

ARTIST STATEMENT

When painting, I try to get out of the way. Unpopular opinion - making art does not have to be an expression of personal thoughts or feelings. Ignoring that natural focus, making art becomes a meditation on life and the never-ending string of decisions that we take credit for but which is really just happening all by itself. Making art becomes a portal into the great mystery that is all around us, IS us, but that we too rarely experience. The work becomes a wonderful gift and absolute surprise.