Meet the artist
An illustrator, printmaker and dyer working from the coastal forests and mountains of Oregon.
octopus, meet bridge
Welcome, and thank you for wandering in. I'm Rachel, an independent artist and illustrator, and I've been lucky to live and learn in my beloved home: the coastal forests and mountains of Oregon.
Through my lens I try to illustrate this strange and wonderful place. My work grows out of our ecosystem and the plant allies in our community landscape: the octopus hiding under the bridge, the marigolds in the neighbor's yard, the whales that show up when you've stopped looking.
From Central Oregon flora and fauna to our precious coastline, I want each piece to be a little window onto the natural beauty that surrounds and inspires us, and a visual delight to live with.
How it's made
(slowly, and with inky fingers)Sketch
It starts outside: a tide pool, a garden bed, a butterfly that won't sit still. Drawn by hand, then reversed onto the block.
Carve
Every line is cut away with gouges, one curl of linoleum or wood at a time. Mistakes become texture.
Ink & pull
Ink is rolled out, paper laid down, pressure applied. Each print is pulled by hand, so each is its own.
Dye
Shirts and fabric get folded, bound and soaked in color for spirals and bursts you can't plan twice.