Rachel Morris

I am an artist, educator, and business consultant who holds a Master of Arts in Teaching. I bring a playful, yet introspectively rigorous approach to my studio practice, with my teaching, and in the creative and business consultation I do for other artists. I was drawn to art at an early age and discovered metalsmithing at the age of eight during a summer arts camp. I loved ceramics, weaving, printmaking – anything artistic – but the enameling caught my attention the most. It became the gateway into other metals modalities and my primary focus now is in hand-fabricated bench work. It’s only in the last 15 years or so that I’ve truly begun to feel (and consciously shape) my creative voice, in part thanks to the inspiration of Paradise City’s shows. Years ago, I’d walk the show as a patron with my mother, reigniting my dream to gain entry alongside the artists I saw here. I set the Paradise shows as a bar I wanted to reach. It drove me to look deeply at my own work and to begin shifting the direction of my designs with that goal and others in mind. Thus began my obsession with dimensional, sculptural, and architectural design elements. I now work primarily in precious metals and rough and cut gemstones, emphasizing rich textures and bold but wearable scale. My customers are those who unabashedly expresses their best selves through every stride taken and every article worn.