Rachel grew up in Maine and attended Northeastern University in Boston where she studied nursing. Rachel earned an MA in psychology/woman studies at Goddard College School for Social Change. She then developed a private practice utilizing cognitive restructuring techniques acquired at The Mind and Body Institute at Deaconess Hospital in Boston. She taught women’s studies at the graduate level, primarily assisting incarcerated women with drug problems, so they could acquire the necessary skills to survive in a competitive world. She also worked as a therapist/psychiatric nurse.
Rachel ran nonprofits and multicultural agencies in Massachusetts, which advocated that all people can deeply affect the world positively and that our similarities can be woven into a powerful, unifying tapestry. Simultaneously, Rachel jumped into the business world with her own commercial real estate/mortgage company, which she has run for the past thirty-five years.
When she and her life partner, Michael Penn, moved to Stuart, Florida to care for her parents, Rachel began telling rich and powerful, spirit-inspired stories through art. She began her journey of creation about four years ago when she and her life partner, Michael Penn, moved to Stuart, Florida, to care for her parents. Since the town had no contemporary galleries, they opened Osceola 32 and introduced international artists from Germany, Russia, Poland, the West Indies and South America to their new community. This venue offered such a great New York City art vibe that many refer to the gallery as “little Soho.” Rachel enhanced many careers while promoting and supporting local arts and charities. This transformational experience offered Rachel a wonderful vehicle to express and paint her dreams and emotions while her imagination opens new doors to her heart and soul. With no formal training, she became a truly unique and prolific digital artist. Rachel works mostly on commission and has had solo shows in locations such as Boston and the South of France. She fully embraces this adage from Pablo Picasso, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
Rachel is a fashionista (often referred to as a “Diva”) and a loving mother/grandmother to her beautiful daughter, Alexis, and incredible granddaughter, Gracie. She loves her dog, Fido, and all animals. Rachel’s art is featured in Defending the Endangered, a foundation created to stop animal poaching and extinction, created by actress and humanitarian, Jon Mack. Rachel likes to travel, read, create art, and promote the blues, musical genre. She is open to new experiences, the magic of the journey, and the possibilities of bettering humanity. She welcomes the opportunity to work as an art director for See Beyond Magazine, a place she was meant to find. Do get to know Rachel as she continues to explore the universe from her heart and soul in a space of love and compassion. Rachel’s philosophy is encapsulated in this quote from Alfred Stieglitz, “It is not art in the professionalized sense about which I care, but that which is created sacredly, as a result of a deep inner experience, with all of oneself, and that becomes ‘art’ in time.”
