We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rainey Rawles. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rainey below.

Hi Rainey, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Absolutely. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve worked in the art field for the entirety of my professional career. I frequently have this conversation with other creative professionals, and ultimately we all come to the same consensus: we couldn’t imagine working a “regular job”. Deep down, I don’t think I could feel fulfilled if I wasn’t doing this kind of work. It’s just part of who I am. I’m always going to be a maker. Accepting that has allowed me to pursue different career paths in the arts– there’s a surprising amount of opportunities out there if you know where to look. Ultimately, I think successfully pursuing the arts as a career is about finding the right path that will allow you to be impactful with your work and feeling fulfilled in what you do. But also, it means knowing your worth and advocating for yourself– financial security can be hard to come by, and unfortunately, a lot of times it’s something you have to fight for.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m an artist and woodworker currently based out of Knoxville, TN. My business, Naughty Pine Woodworks, specializes in high-end BDSM accessories and couture. I have a background in fine art, and I have worked professionally as an exhibition designer, fabricator, and art handler for museums and galleries. I bring this professional expertise into my woodworking practice and business, where my work fills a rather unfulfilled need. There is a lack of handmade, high-quality, and well designed (both functionally and aesthetically) BDSM accessories on the market. My goal is to create products that clients are proud to own and display, and to reclaim some of the stigma that surrounds this industry.

As an artist, I’ve always had this compulsion to create things. I’ve found that it kind of manifests in different ways– sometimes it’s more artistically and conceptually driven, other times it’s more technical and mechanically based. I constantly hover in that intersection, however, I believe it’s what makes me good at what I do. With woodworking, I think that strong attention to detail and the ability to solve mechanical problems, combined with an eye for aesthetic and conceptual design, is the perfect environment for high-quality products.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think that it’s easy to misattribute success in the creative field to talent. Certainly, there’s an abundance of talent in this field; however, I think the amount of work that goes into what I do (and what other creatives do) is often discounted. We’re working long hours, juggling multiple jobs, sacrificing ourselves, our relationships, our finances, and our hobbies for our work. In addition to being artists, we’re also running our own businesses– acting as our own agents, networking, accounting, project managing, marketing… the list goes on.

I think artists and creative professionals are some of the most dedicated and hardworking people out there. I feel like we’re constantly swimming against the current to “make it” so to speak, because there’s still this mentality that we’re gifted with talent, and that there’s no inherent value in something that we didn’t have to work for. The arts can be a very exploitative place, especially since people working in this field are so passionate about what they do.

I’ve worked very hard to develop my skills– I have a college degree, I’ve worked in museums and galleries for eight years. I continue to learn, research and engage. The work I do is thoughtful and informed– I am pulling from a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and resources– not just from my own professional experience, but from such a large community of incredibly skilled people that I’m very fortunate to know and work with. There’s so much more that goes into creating a high-quality product or work of art than just raw talent, and I think it’s important to recognize that.

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

Over the years, I’ve had a hard time identifying the impetus driving my work. As an artist, it can be a frustrating thing, because that purpose is ultimately what informs the work and gives it meaning. As I’ve continued my career path into woodworking, I’ve realized that a lot of what I’m passionate about is reflective in my own experiences.

This is purely anecdotal, but I’ve found that it’s very rare that I encounter another female woodworker– I’ve met and worked with a large number of women that are metal fabricators or foundry workers, but for some reason woodworking has been much more exclusive. There’s a lot that I could say on the subject. However, based on my past experiences, I feel like I now have this wonderful opportunity to make woodworking more accessible for women, trans, and nonbinary folks through my work and through outreach and advocacy.

Both my artistic practice and my woodworking business are aligned in that regard. Through my sculpture, I explore stigmas associated with sexual deviance and its impact on traditional binary gender roles. You could say that Naughty Pine shares a similar purpose. My goal is to help others feel empowered in themselves and in their sexuality, regardless of their gender identity or societal norms.

Contact Info:

• Website: naughtypinewoodworks.com
• Instagram: @naughtypinewoodworks
• Other: @raineyrawles www.raineyrawles.com

Image Credits
Daniel Clay