Week of Representing: Rachel Taormina

Last week, I saw "Miss Representation," Jennifer Siebel Newsom's documentary about the harm caused by the way that our society . . . crystallized in the media . . . portrays women:  it is always the way that you look that matters more than anything else about you, and the way you "should" look is almost impossible to achieve.  (Please click here to read some amazingly sad statistics.)  

This isn't good for anyone.  Seriously.  In the short term and in the long run, treating a group of people this way damages them, and damages you.  And makes the pie-of-what-is-possible smaller, rather than larger.  Which sucks for everyone.  Bigger pies = better possibilities for us all.  Hey -- why not run the world THAT way?!?!?

My friends Sally and Maria and Cathy have already written eloquent blog posts about "Miss Representation" and its effects on them.  I hope you'll click on their names and read those posts.

It is serious subject matter, and can be incredibly depressing.  

But the filmmakers have also offered hope -- in the form of a call to action:  where we all are asked to take steps in supporting women as more than simply the sum of our looks.  (You can follow this movement on Twitter at @RepresentPledge.)

So what's my action right now?  

This week, Beans will be featuring three creative women, from different ages and walks of life, and sharing with you their experiences, passion, ideas and art.  Thanks much to these three women, and to all of you women and men who read about them!

Rachel Taormina

Coincidentally, the last time I saw Rachel was over 20 years ago, when she and my kids were preschoolers together.  It was with great luck and happiness that I serendipitously reconnected with Rachel and her wonderful mom Grace this summer.   

What is your art background?

I grew up in a creative household.  My mother, a designer and artist, always encouraged my artistic endeavors and supplied me with the means to do so.  I always loved drawing and crafting as a child so my mom would plop me down at the kitchen table with what seemed like an endless supply of crafting materials, and I would entertain myself for hours.  I went through numerous crafting stages:  magazine collaging, drawing, sewing pillows, jewelry-making, clay bead-making, etc. . . . [in college] it wasn't until my second semester of wandering around like a little lost puppy, and several monotonous general education courses later that I finally realized that I LOVED making art.  The first drawing class I enrolled in in college decided the fate of the rest of my college career.  In 2008 I graduated with a BA in fine arts with an emphasis on art education.

How do you describe your work?

I would describe my work as colorful, whimsical and abstract.  My pieces are usually a mix of drawings and paintings with collage.  I use chalk pastel, ink, watercolor and acrylic layered with paper and other objects.  My work usually features portraits of either people I know or interpretations of my own self.  My art is therapeutic and I tend to work when my emotions are high, so often my art tends to be a little wild and somewhat dark.

Where do your inspirations and ideas come from?

Everywhere!!!  Everything from an interesting coaster at a bar, to a funky record cover at a thrift shop inspires me.  I love to collage, so every time I see something interesting I can collage with what I'm inspired by.  Anything with texture or pattern:  wood grain, cracks in the sidewalk, rust, plaster peeling off the wall.  Feathers, wine bottles, clothes, jewelry.  Art is everywhere!

What medium do you prefer to use?

Most of my work is mixed media.  I use ink, watercolor, paper, pastel and found objects such as vintage book pages and feathers.  I love mixing mediums [because] it gives my pieces a layered effect and somewhat chaotic messy feel.  At the moment my favorite medium is ink and watercolor.  I love the way ink and watercolor flow so effortlessly over paper, and how you can control the opacity and transparency with just a dab of water.  I love the instant gratification watercolor gives me.  It's fast and it's easy to clean up, which is refreshing because my work usually requires a bit of clean up.

What's your next artistic goal?

I have always wanted to make really large-scale art.  I have never made anything larger than five feet by three feet.  Also, I would love to be able to finish a piece of art without abandoning it first and moving on to the next piece.  I always have a number of pieces that I'm working on at the same time, and a few pieces that have been almost forgotten about.  That has always been the way I've worked, but I think it would be so gratifying to concentrate on one piece, and only one piece, until completion.

You can find Rachel's artwork at Ideologie, 1770 Solano Avenue in Berkeley, CA.  Thanks for your time, ideas, work, passion and creativity, Rachel!  Keep up the great work.  YOU ROCK!!!

  

UPDATE  . . . .

A bit after writing this post, we  had the good fortune to find more of Rachel's work in a private collection :)  Holy crap.  It rocked us off our socks.

Check out this pen-and-ink, mixed media collage piece called "Underwater Heart:"

This amazing image is a monoprint:  

Another mixed-media collage.  Totally admire Rachel's skills as both an extremely gifted representational, and abstract, artist.

And how she can create in so many ways.  Here, a linotype.

Keep rocking on, you extremely talented woman!!!!  So glad we got to find even more of your work, Rachel.