Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Morin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I always knew, deep down, I was meant to be an artist, and the people closest to me did too. I think I spent a long time trying to ignore that part of myself because it wasn’t lucrative. I tried making compromises to only make art for myself or just have it be a hobby, but after seven years of building my career as a UX designer, and deluding myself into thinking I was doing something that scratched that creative itch, I just ended up burnt out.
I hated middle school, I was depressed and a little lonely. I made friends (who are still my best friends to this day) but still; felt really out of place. This was a K-12 school and my mom wanted me to stay for high school, which was a future I really did not want to come true. That was when I found out about Carver high school, where I could audition to get in for the visual arts prime. I asked my mom if she could help me get some art classes, and while she might’ve not liked the idea of me applying to a different high school, she saw that drawing made me happier and that was good enough for her. I was told that I would likely not make it in, but she was just trying to shield me from disappointment. I spent hours on my portfolio not only creating pieces for it, but building the portfolio as well. My dad wanted to help since he is handy, but of course I had to do it on my own. My hands were black and blue from trying to nail it together, but nonetheless I completed it, auditioned, and made it in.
This put me on a trajectory to art school, which again, is a difficult conversation to have with your ex-Soviet parents who expected a doctor, lawyer or engineer. As you can imagine there were many fights about my career trajectory. Ultimately, I got into Tyler School of Art at Temple, in Philly. I decided to double major in Visual Studies and Advertising, leading me down a graphic design path – but I was too scared to actually apply to the graphic design major, because I used to be a really big fan of counting myself out before I even tried, and I was scared of computers ironically. I ended up getting an internship in Tel Aviv at an advertising agency, so I moved to Israel for about 6 months. While there I came to the realization that I wanted to be a Creative Director, someone that comes up with the strategy, not just the graphic designer taking orders. When I came back to the U.S. I began taking courses to become certified in UX Design. Becoming a Creative Director would require many years in the advertising world, and if I realized one thing, it was that I hated advertising, but enjoyed creative strategy.
I took my certification course, and got a job as a Product Designer in Virginia. Moved out there, hated it and felt lonely, so I asked to be a remote worker, and moved back to Baltimore. I ended up quitting for a design agency job that I started in February of 2020. Shortly after, we were permanently remote. The agency world had me so burned out that I was pulling my hair out…literally. There were promises of promotions and raises and that kept me going for a while, until I realized it was never going to happen, so I quit again and got what would be my last UX job at a major corporation. I spent two years twiddling my thumbs and haphazardly completing work I wasn’t interested in – becoming more and more depressed year after year.
Finally, I was in a bad position at my company and realized I was very close to being let go, and it finally dawned on me that I couldn’t do this for another 40 years…so I quit to become a full time artist, and here we are about 6 months later, and now you’re caught up.
I now work at a grocery store, making a significant amount less than I was before and while it is harder in a different way, my mental health has never been better. Now I make the art that I want, sell work on the weekends and vending events and in businesses around Baltimore and accept art commissions. I have made many connections and friends and have grown my art community. I have taken on opportunities and commissions I thought would never become real. I have received so much love and support for my work from my parents (they’re on board now), friends, mentors, the artist community and customers, that it encourages me to keep going. At this particular juncture, my professional art journey is in its infancy. During my time working in the corporate world my art had stagnated significantly and the further I distanced myself the more I felt like something was off and my depression grew. I ended up signing up for classes to hold myself accountable and it was the best decision I made, I needed that accountability. During that time is when I rediscovered my love for drawing and surrealism. It was just another push to further myself in my art journey.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think any time you try to go against the norm you should not expect a smooth journey. As I mentioned from when I was younger, there was a constant clash between myself and my parents. While they’re extremely supportive now, the negative messaging stayed with me and was emphasized as I got older by commonly held beliefs in society. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones that held the mentality that being an artist meant starving. I held it myself. I think one of the biggest hurdles I had to get through was believing in myself, and being comfortable with the unknown. Before I had graduated from Temple, I had basically done art in an academic setting and became accustomed to being graded, having regular critiques and believing that some art is superior to the other based on mediums chosen. It took me a long time to finally give myself permission to start experimenting, to fail, to just be bad at something, to like something others don’t, and to follow my intuition even if no one else gets it. It’s a very solitary path and a path that does not have a wrong way or a right way. Making decisions about different opportunities and having a less than sufficient income forced me to accept that I do not know what will happen tomorrow, and that is okay, because that is what I actually wanted. A break from monotony, a break from conformity and opportunity to just be myself and be happy with that in the present. I would not have been able to get to this point without those obstacles along the way.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work features a lot of mushrooms, nature, and flowers combined with figures. I like to bring together multiple types of drawing mediums together and explore the feelings these combinations give. I primarily work in pencil, ink and colored pencil – but have lots of new ideas brewing with a lot of new materials to explore. I started to draw mushrooms around the time my grandma passed away. I tend to fixate on certain images when they pop into my head, and then create combinations out of those images. I don’t always know where they come from and what their significance is until I start drawing. Through that process I tend to be able to better understand my own thoughts and feelings. I have always enjoyed surrealism, and human form, hands specifically, so creating these organic combinations felt natural. Drawing with colored pencils is a slow process, and it forced me to slow down, to be intentional, but also gave me a lot of grace and forgiveness as a medium. I have always liked realism and graphic elements and haven’t seen a lot of art like that, so that is when the zentangles started to come in, it is my take on abstraction, on pattern building, and I am excited to see how it evolves.
Through my drawings I discovered that I felt like I had an understanding with mushrooms. A misunderstood natural world that is all around us. Mushrooms have huge communities; they are always intertwined underneath the Earth. Even when the actual fruit body is gone (what you actually see above ground), the presence still remains. Fungi feed on death and decay and repurpose it into new life. Just as my grandma has passed and is no longer with us, her presence is still felt, the community she helped build is still thriving and my memories of her have new meaning through my art.
I am most proud of the growth I see within my own art. The more I push outside my comfort zone the better and more creative it becomes, and while it is a slow process, I can still see it happening day by day. I think what sets me apart from others is how much feeling I put into my work. I believe the audience feels something when engaging with my work. I think it is subtle and contemplative, it isn’t loud, even if the pieces are larger, and that is reflected by how long the medium takes to complete the pieces, if that makes sense. I think my intentional mixed media usage ignites memories and emotions – that connection is what sets me apart.
Short Artist Statement: My work explores the parallels between internal emotional landscapes and the natural systems that surround us, especially fungi and mycelial networks. Through drawing and mixed media, I examine the ways growth, healing, and transformation often happen beneath the surface—quietly, invisibly, and in unexpected directions. The pieces blend softness and strangeness, inviting viewers into an ecosystem that mirrors the complexity of the mind.
What were you like growing up?
I was a smartass that always wanted to be independent. I was silly and even as a kid loved drawing. I liked performing and singing too (I was not very good at that though). When I was in high school I was definitely on the more depressed and angsty side, and felt extremely misunderstood. I started smoking and drinking pretty early and doing all the dumb things teenagers do, so I was a handful for my parents. I so badly wanted to prove to them, and probably myself, that I am capable of doing anything, so no matter what I was told, I always did the opposite, just to prove a point. I guess not much has changed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kuzyakreations.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelmorinart/#
