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

Rachel, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Professionally I go by my given name, but I publish & sell my designs and original artwork under the name “Club Despair” – which is something that was originally born out of a group chat. The thread started humbly enough – a close friend of my husband’s from high school added a few fellow high school grads and a couple of their spouses to keep in touch. At the time I wasn’t familiar with Signal and reluctantly downloaded it after much of the group migrated away from facebook. But over time – and especially through the peaks and valleys of the pandemic – the group became something of a lifeline to me. The odd assortment of folks in various parts of the country (and now world), some of which I hadn’t even met in real life, gave me a connection to something that I desperately needed during a time when nothing felt particularly solid. I couldn’t say exactly how the name came about – only that it at one point became the title of the chat.

Over the years we bonded over hundreds (possibly thousands) of memes and commiserations of whatever bullshit the world happened to be throwing at us at the time. While so many things about our lives were different, I think the connecting thread was the general recognition of the weariness and melancholy that often came with navigating a world that wasn’t always designed to serve us. Whether that be due to a gender or sexual identity, racial background, neurodivergence, mental health disorder, or something else that made us feel somehow different or “othered”, it was a way for us all to feel welcomed and understood on an implicit level. It’s the feeling that I want to capture through my designs – that feeling that none of us are going through this alone, and that there can be joy (and memes) even in moments of darkness.

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?

While my background originates in graphic design, my skill set has evolved into a broader range of creative services. These days I spend much of my time designing interfaces and user experiences for mobile and web applications, but in my spare time I work on anything from custom illustrations and portraits to logos to posters and anything in between. My primary goal in any project I take on is to effectively visualize a person, concept, or project that my client cares deeply about. I particularly enjoy doing portrait commissions for that reason – I think that human element makes the work more gratifying and having the ability to create a custom piece that allows someone to commemorate a person or pet that is important to them – I feel very lucky to be able to do that.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

There are more important things than the algorithm.

My style tends to vary based on my mood or the situation, and my motivation typically comes in waves so that there are periods when I don’t feel very inspired, and periods where I feel very productive.

Social media has created this sense of urgency that artists should be constantly churning out content to keep their viewership engaged. I would get very down on myself thinking that I couldn’t live up to that standard, but eventually I had to realize that ultimately I am doing this for myself and not to entertain strangers on the internet. There are so many things we do in life to serve others, and while I think it is important to share my work and hope that others can be inspired by it, I try not to get distracted by numbers and impressions because I think that is contrary to the process of creating art.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The Artist’s Way is one that really resonated with me. In the book, Julia Cameron talks about making time to commune with yourself – that it is essential to understanding yourself and finding your voice as an artist.

Something that Cameron recommends in the book is an exercise called the morning pages. It’s a simple concept – make time in the morning to write 3 pages. That’s it – they can be about anything you want. They can be about nothing in particular.

While I have always kept a sketchbook through my life, even as a child, I was never able to keep a journal consistently. I couldn’t see the importance of it, of recording what I was thinking or feeling at a given time. I worried it wouldn’t sound very interesting or that it wasn’t worthwhile. But something about the way it was presented in the Artist’s Way clicked.

I started keeping a journal sporadically over the pandemic, as a way of helping me process what I was feeling and as an outlet for my anxiety. But taking the advice from Cameron, I began to be more deliberate about it. I incorporated it into my morning routine and made time to complete an entry even when I wasn’t feeling in the mood. It felt strange at first, even a bit silly, but it began to come more naturally. I found that I was able to see myself more clearly – to understand what I wanted, and even begin to work out ideas on the page as I unraveled them. It began to have a calming effect, especially when I started incorporating meditating into my routine. It’s become an essential part of my day now, and taking the time to really listen to myself is something I have come to think of as a necessary part of the process.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://clubdespair.threadless.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelbennettdraws/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbennettdesigns/
• Other: Portfolio site: www.rachelbennett.net

Image Credits
All artwork is my own – artist photo taken by Eddie Delaney