Hey there!

My name is Rachel (she/they) and I am a Maker, artist and stop-motion fabricator based in Lake Hughes, CA, USA. I have spent my life building a portfolio of skills and frankly it's hard to summarize what I do. Depending on who I'm talking in the given moment, to may self-describes as one of the following:
    Fantastic fabricator, stop-motion puppet wizard, wannabe engineer, retired video game programmer, okayist carpenter, diligent painter, resentful seamstress, intermediate traditional sculptor, rattlesnake wrangler, general CNC hackery, dangerous electrical engineer, reasonable production designer, begrudged software developer, exhausted project manager, beginner welder, fair molding and casting, and other various miscellaneous.

Recent Projects

    If you've been here before, you may have noticed things got a little quiet on my site and my social media around 2021/2021. That's when I packed up and moved to Lake Hughes - a tiny, unincorporated mountain community at the edge of the Angeles National Forest - and began the new journey of creating a local community of artists and makers.
    Less posting, more doing! I haven't stopped learning, building, and teaching! Since relocating, I've spent some much needed time refocusing my attention on the people and projects around me. More collaboration, community, and care.

Here are some of my recent endeavors:

Background in Coding?!

    In my former life, I was a software developer. I graduated from Northeastern University, in Boston, with a BS in Computer Science in 2003. After college I had a very successful 6+ year career as a programmer in the video-game industry. Sadly, my work in the intangible world of software eventually became unfulfilling.
    Knowing I wanted to become a traditional artist and eventually work in stop-motion animation, I took a leap of faith and quit my programming gig in 2009. Rather than returning to college I sought out classes around LA and created my own curriculum between local schools and workshops. 
    Through hard work, persistence, and my "don't be a dick" mantra, I realized my dreams and found my way into paid full-time work in stop-motion, working in various departments including puppet and scenic painting, puppet fabrication, rapid prototyping (3D print shop), set dressing, and prop fabrication.

My Mission

    My mission is to learn everything that interests me, practice and create as often as possible, and teach what I know to anyone who will listen. There are so many things in this world that I want to understand and experience, my curiosity and love of learning are nearly insatiable. Combine that with personalizing a responsibility to not take a single gift or privilege for granted, a desire to constantly test my limits, regrets of a misspent youth, and a healthy dose of survivors guilt for out living my little brother, and you get a bottomless supply of equal parts ambition and overwhelm.
    I am grateful for all of the teachers in my life, the opportunities I have been given, and the incredible artists that I work with across many imaginative studios here in Los Angeles.​ I strive to empower others to pursue their creative dreams, fulfill their artistic potential, and live a well-rounded life. I firmly believe that WE ALL benefit when everyone is given equitable resources and opportunities to succeed. And I readily share everything I have learned with anyone that cares to listen - NO GATEKEEING!