OUR INTERVIEW WITH RACHEL

ANN ARBOR AMERICAN GRAFFITI

THERE IS A FANTASTIC ALLEYWAY IN ANN ARBOR THAT IS BASICALLY A DESIGNATED AREA FOR GRAFFITI. IT'S UNREAL! THE WAY THE LIGHT HITS THE ART IS BREATH-TAKING. THERE IS A GUM SECTION OF THE WALL THAT IS QUITE POSSIBLY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DISPLAY OF CHEWED GUM I HAVE EVER WITNESSED. MORE TO COME FROM THIS SET...

Who are you?

that's one loaded question!
i'm a 27 year-old girl on the verge of 28 with an intensely strong desire to create! i think i'm supossed to put my name here.... it's rachel.

Where are you located?

then: born and raised in the suburbs of DETROIT, MICHIGAN- 25 years
now: vero beach, florida- 3 years and still kickin'

What do you create?

saying that i take photographs just seems to easy of an answer but if i need to be technical and give a simple answer then i create PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS for people's walls

Where do you sell your creations?

ETSY- what a wonderful world it is in there!!!! www.secrethistory.ETSY.com

PART 2 TUNNELING 48 DEGREES

Where do you create?

ANYWHERE on this good green earth! wherever my legs will take me- I'LL WALK & wherever a car will drive me- I'M GAME! abandoned houses call out to me in my sleep- there is always a story to tell inside. i must admit that sometimes i have the most fun shooting random objects on my back porch with my music blaring.

What inspires you?

my childhood- in a BIG way, MUSIC, the problem of pain, LIFE, children, quality movies, MOVEMENT,my siblings, books/authors- anything by these guys: c.s. lewis, j.d. salinger and dave eggars.

this quote sums up how i feel about the photos i shoot
"it helps me remember... and I NEED to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in."
-RICKY FITTS- (American Beauty)

YOUR BOOKS AFTER THE STORM

Is your Etsy shop a full-time job, part-time job, or hobby?

part to full-time.

What type of marketing is the most effective for you?

word of mouth. i've got GREAT support and people who help to spread the word!

Optional Interview Questions (Pick as many as you like):

What do you do when you are not creating?

"my head's a carousel of pictures, the spinning nver stops"
-BRIGHT EYES-

i don't think there is ever a time when i'm NOT creating. my brain never seems to shut off. i'm constantly coming up with ideas. i think it's pretty typical for the creative types to be insomniacs. maybe not but i am one and i think it's due to the never-ending ideas. i've been this way since birth.

What role does creativity play in your marketing methods?

hmmmmm.... you've got to get creative to make people look your way.

What are your goals?

to keep on doing what i love. to create art that people connect with. to make a photograph more than just an image you frame and slap on your wall. i want my photos to tell stories but also leave room for personal interpretation. i want to help people to see the beauty in things we pass by everyday and miss because of the chaos. we all move too fast these days and before we know it those days are gone.

AT THE BOTTOM OF EVERYTHING

How do you envision your creations being used by your customers?

i like the idea of using some of my more colorful work in a child's playroom or bedroom. i envision other pieces being used in in an office/craft room or music room. i like shooting sets of pictures that work well together- like a set of 3 from an abandoned house. when you frame them side by side they almost become narratives. i love making stories from photographs.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

my 25 year-old brother has been such an unbelievable encouragment. he keeps me going when i'm down, he's been one of my biggest fans from the beginning. when i asked him to help me with this interview he wrote a little something. it's a view of me from his eyes. just reading it reminds me why i do what i do and why i adore it. so here is a quote from the great Geoffrey James- my inspiration, my best friend, one of the most amazing people i've ever met, someone who knows me sometimes better than i know myself

" Rachel loves to take pictures of seemingly normal situations or at plain, simple locations, but she's got the ability to make you pull emotion out of her photographs. Looking at a finished print, you can actually take something away from it. If it's a beach or a building, you feel like you've been there. Or if it's a child, you feel like you've met the little one. She really puts life on paper in a surreal way. It's brilliant."

What is your other job?

i'm a freelance candid children's photograper too and it rocks my world! i love getting photos of kids being who THEY are- not some fake cheesy smile with a carpet-block backdrop. the inspiration to start my business was driven from my severe loathing for those yearly school pictures of myself and my siblings we had taken growing up. i would look back at them and think- "where's our personality?!?!". i strive to bring other people's children into their element- to get them being real and then i fire away.

GREEN GOTHIC MYSTERY

For more information please visit:

Online store: www.secrethistory.etsy.com
Website: www.rdemsickphotography.com
Blog: I need to get this in order- currently it's a messsssss!
Other: http://flickr.com/photos/rmdemsick/sets/