Hey, I’m Rachel.

I am sitting in the little coffee shop on an old school bus where I work, talking to Carl. There’s a motorcycle gas tank on the counter behind me that I’m supposed to be working on painting, but Carl is showing me old black and white photos of his Nova and his Sportster (Harley-Davidson) from the 70’s. The latter is looking haggardly from him and some friends laying it down on a drag strip. And I am thinking, this is just as important as the gas tank; talking to him and hearing his story and learning a little more about Carl. A friend and studio-mate of mine once told me that what you do outside of the studio is just as important as what you do inside the studio. This is my process: living life fully and deeply, and doing my best to know a little more about the people I get to share it with. Sometimes, that involves making art. (Sometimes, it involves riding motorcycles.)

I grew up in a Harley-Davidson dealership, hiding in the clothing racks, building forts with parts boxes, selling hot chocolate at a stand in the service department, and notoriously stealing rolls of tape for my art projects. Bikers were the first family I had, before I found community in church, coffee shops, and school classes.

Motorcycle culture and how it influences and permeates other cultures is a driving force behind my ideas and process as an artist. I’m interested in bikers and who they are, versus who everyone else thinks we should be. I’m interested in motorcycles as artworks, sculptures built by master craftsmen.

Sketchbooks have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I use them to process the world around me and they are like a live journal. I like them more than anything else I create because they feel very real and raw. They aren’t created to look good or to impress anyone and the result of that is very honest. I am trying to learn to implement that mindset when making other, larger works. I am also learning how to build and work with my hands more in ways that have always been a little intimidating. Working on bikes and doing things that other people have always done for me has helped me become more confident in myself and my abilities. It is all a growing process and, like me, it is changing every day. 

Email

rachel.oconnor2015@gmail.com