We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Tribble recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Several years ago I did some work for a large national retailer, who made journals with my paintings as the cover. Several months after the project went into the stores, I was contacted by a woman from a children’s cancer hospital in Texas. She said that they had purchased the journals locally and the store didn’t have any more, she wanted to know how to get more of them. They were giving the journals to the parents of children who had passed away from cancer.

Even though this project was a few years ago, and I didn’t do the work specifically for that hospital.
I still feel so honored they chose my work to help people going through such devastation in their lives.

If my work can help people going through a traumatic experience, or dealing with illness, or life upheaval.
This means the most to me.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve always been an artist, I really can’t remember a time when I wasn’t making something.
I started my career as a jewelry designer. I fell in love with the colors of gemstones. I was amazed at the beauty of these natural stones.
I’ve always been drawn to environmental issues and have worked in different ways to bring awareness about the condition of our planet.
I have used my art to try and tell this story. Painting trees, flowers and other nature oriented imagery.
Through that drive to tell stories of the Earth, I was introduced to some people in the Indigenous community in the upper mid-west. Those friendships changed my life.
I started painting nature in a deeper way, trying to give the viewer a glimpse into the connection we all have to Earth, the spiritual worlds and each other.
It was that body of work that was noticed by Disney, which started a 15 year collaboration between the company and myself. I was thrown into a world of storytelling and color that was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

Being lost in a work of art can the most natural, relaxing and healing experience. I am offering people serene moments. A time to just take a break and fall into the worlds I create.
Often, I am told by people who live with my work how much they love coming home after a busy day, or having the work in their office. They can just sit with it fall into a world that makes them feel happy and less stressed.

Recently I have been creating handmade books, journals, and planners. I’ve also started working in mixed media.
I have a new body of mixed media work I hope to release in the fall.

I am really passionate about the new work, especially the books. I am offering people something that is tactile and intimate.
Something that I have made, but they put themselves into it too.
It’s a personal space for my clients to create in, write down their dreams or plan their day.
The books can be commissioned, so that becomes a very special project for me. I spend a lot of time listening to my clients. I really want to understand their dreams and passion for their journal or book. Then I go to work. It becomes personal and sometimes, an all consuming project for me.

This work gives me an opportunity to share the things that I love, (and for people that already know my work), might not know about me.
Especially my twist on ancient influences, papers and threads,vintage and rustic found objects and metalwork.
I’m also working in media I have not used in years, and in some cases, ever.
The journals have become really popular and through them I’ve made new friends and been invited to travel around the country.

I’m excited about the new direction of my work. I feel like a little bird jumping out of the nest!
I love being able to create pieces for people that are deeply meaningful to them for years to come.
A piece that can help get through a hard time, or just relax and reconnect.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The meditation of making the work is the most rewarding, but being able to share the work is equally rewarding.
I think it keeps me sane. But that’s relative right? haha.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

For me my work has always been a call for people to reconnect with the Earth and be inspired by the natural world.
I have paintings from when I was in elementary school. I was painting the same thing. Flowers, trees, mountains, butterflies.
Nature can heal our spirits, In the times we live in, everyone is so stressed out, for the obvious, and for personal reasons.
I think we need a moment to breathe, get off electronic devices for some period of time everyday, and just reconnect with Earth and each other.
I hope my work inspires moments to do that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://racheltribble.com
• Instagram: #racheltribbleart
• Facebook: racheltribbleart

Image Credits

None