We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Phoebe Rain a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Phoebe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I have been brightly expressive & interested in most forms of art from a very young age. My father is a musician/song writer, & my mother is an artist & photographer. So they have always been highly supportive & encouraging with my love for creativity. It turned into the idea of pursuing visual arts professionally, when I was 16 in high school. I excelled in my art classes, won first place in the life drawing category at our state competition, & created pieces they used as examples for future years such as a functional life size rocking chair made of recycled cardboard. I greatly struggled with traditional school structure. My incredible art teacher, Tim Mispagel, saw this & turned my detentions into extra art classes. Eventually that turned into a formal joint decision of myself, the high school, my parents, & my local community college to let me transition into college at 16 for a pursuit towards a degree in Art & Business. From there I had two professors, artists Keiko Kira & Mark Cowardin, who pushed & shaped my skills & passion for authentic professional visual artistry.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I had many mind changes on what industry I wanted to go into professionally first.
I was pulled towards my love for cooking/baking, sculpture, & portrait drawings, but ultimately decided on photography. At 18 I started by shadowing an extremely talented family friend, Jaime, in Texas with her business Tru Photography. From there, I grew a portfolio & started proposing my work locally. Which grew into working nationally & internationally doing wedding, portrait, commercial, runway, product & editorial photography.
From there I started dabbling in other creative & entrepreneurial avenues.
Myself & Tiffani Starr started a small non profit together called Rubbish Co. We encouraged others to rethink the way we produce & discard products. This included hosting fundraising & city clean up events, public speaking, sustainability consulting, vendor pop ups, in addition to a hand crafted clothing line made from all recycled materials.
My professional art career has also consisted of independent mural work for restaurants, retails, personal residents, airbnbs, & offices.
I’ve had two independent art shows; One which showcased a street photography serious I captured in NYC during fashion week, & the other of personal paintings.
I have been a dancer & choreographer, as well as an independent yoga instructor. In the same realm, I am a trained aerial artist & past teacher. I worked with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City for 3 consecutive years, as a highlighted visual artist.
I was commissioned by Johnson County Community College under the Art & Sustainability department to create a welded sculpture made from recycled metals & materials.
I have also dabbled in set design & art direction for tv shows, movies, & live theatre performance’s.
As far as personal commissioned work I have created pieces made in all mediums from glass blowing, to painted portraits, to welding & wood burning.
I currently am growing a homesteading business with my mom, where we specialize in beekeeping, canned & dried goods (such as jams, applesauce, herbs, noodles) grown on our ranch & locally, & bakery items. I am also still accepting commission art work & occasional photography.
I believe the ability behind what sets me apart is staying curious & creative, & the willingness to be diligent in continuing. Whether in personal or professional life. I’ve been willing to think outside the box, practice follow through & execution, & work to find love in every project I do. Hard work truly pays off, if you stick with it.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Absolutely. Later in my career I started to find photography & art groups, in & out of my city, on social media. In these groups others in the industry get together in person, share gigs, & give/ask for advice. I’ve personally had very positive experiences on getting work, group photography/drawing sessions, & networking. It’s always good to have others you’re able to connect with & be around doing what you also are, or have a hope to be. It creates any kind of opportunity for new knowledge, friendship, business, & growth.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Continue offering accessible grants, cheap/free studios, & residencies. These factors can be huge for most of us artists no matter the medium. It gives us the opportunity to expand & grow our work, as well as giving the public a way to support by purchasing art or discovering artists. I always say to buy local or handmade/homemade when possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://therubbishco.square.site/
- Instagram: @phoeberain
Image Credits
Alex Rhoades
Chadwick Christopher
Tiffani Starr