We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Davis and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Rachel, how do you think about risk?
Apart from relocating from New York to California when I turned thirty, leaving behind family, and all professional connections for a coast whose beauty I could not stop dreaming of, finally embracing a love of art and calling myself an artist at age sixty has been the other huge leap into the unknown.
I could have had a perfectly comfortable life in New York as a psychologist, or gone quietly into retirement in California as a psychologist, leaving the artist life as an unrealized dream. Except I couldn’t. Both of these risks started as quiet, then increasingly insistent, preoccupying happy obsessions. The doubts and fears were there of course – both times. But the much bigger fear was imagining a life where I hadn’t even tried, a life where I was left filled with regret about not trying.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art has two major themes, one represented in figurative work celebrating women, the other in abstract work growing out of a decades long Ikebana, Japanese flower arranging practice.
After four years and several series, I’ve recognized that the representational work has all been about answering the question asked in silly sing-song jest around my childhood dinner table when my mom had a lot to say:
“Esther, you wanna shut up?”
The answer is a resounding:
“ . “No, Esther doesn’t wanna shut up.”
Esther and the rest of us women want our voices heard. Loud and clear. Raw. Energetic. Fun. Furious. Passionate. My figurative work is about women taking up space with joy, attitude, and no apology.
Asian inspired abstraction and botanical work, on the other hand, is about coming at beauty sideways, translating a sense of history and transience through layering, excavation and discovery, conveying an appreciation of the beauty in imperfection. It is deeply grounding and joyful. When things are going well, my breathing slows and my mouth waters.
Getting such a late start on the artist life, the biggest challenge has been feeling like I have to choose an artistic path, hone in on it, and make up for lost time. The solution to this challenge has been taking another perspective on it. I only have so much time left, and I’m not about to spend it limiting options and constraining myself with arbitrary rules about the “right” path. As long as joy is at the helm, all is good.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First I’d have them check out icbartists.com the artist collective in Sausalito where I make my artistic home along with 100+ artist of every stripe – sound installation, sculpture, fiber artists, abstract and representational painters, jewelers and more. ICB artists have had work exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, and are collected on every continent. The supportive, collaborative energy in the building is palpable and infectious and there’s nothing like hearing the story behind the art directly from the artists.
Second, I’d suggest they make their way out to Point Reyes National Seashore, a breathtakingly beautiful drive roughly an hour and a half from San Francisco. The Marin Headlands and Muir Woods are closer to SF, and all have spectacular hikes from flat and easy to steep and challenging.
For bird lovers, I’d suggest Las Gallinas ponds in San Rafael – which draws birders from across the country and further afield. The ponds are easily accessible and the avian payoff is amazing.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Two shout outs for me. Without my mom, who cared deeply about all things beautiful, even though she grew up in a world and culture that didn’t value beauty in the least, I’d never have become an artist. She was very beautiful herself, and it could sometimes be challenging growing up the only daughter of a super glam mom, but looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Second – I’m beyond grateful to have a studio in an extraordinary artist collective, the ICB Building, icbartists.com on the working waterfront in Sausalito, CA. Instead of a lonely, struggling artist existence – this 100+ strong artist community work together, go to one another’s openings, laugh and inspire one another, help push all our art to the next level, and offer shoulders to cry on or useful critiques when we’re facing disappointment or stuck in our work. I pinch myself daily at this great good art fortune.
Website: http://www.racheldavisstudio.com
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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1AnfNZWovVK1M3D-wf9lEA Rachel Davis Studio