Check out Rachel Baydian’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Baydian.

Rachel, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Ever since I can remember, artfulness has been a part of my nature. My mom recalls me as a baby in a stroller, outstretching my arms as we went down the aisles of department stores, grasping at fabrics of clothing and feeling the textures between my fingertips. I think I have always had this keen awareness and desire to understand our material world in a very tactile and experiential way. My parents always nurtured this inclination by enrolling me in art classes from a young age.

In high school, I had this incredibly inspiring art teacher, Mr. Kauffman, who believed in me and pushed me in my artistic exploration. He fostered my discipline, expression, techniques, and gave me a lot of the tools I use today in my work. I am so beyond grateful to him for where I am now.

I received my BA in Studio Art from Azusa Pacific University in 2015. Choosing to pursue an art degree in college was not as much a conscious decision as a natural pull and innate calling. I wanted to further develop my artistic voice, and utilize the liberal arts education as a holistic way to inform my art practice. During a brief stint in my artistic journey in which I second guessed my purpose as an artist, my art mentor spoke these words of truth that helped redirect me: “Do what you love, and the rest will follow.” At that moment, I knew what I needed to do. I quickly returned to the art department and got straight to work. It reinvigorated in me a sense of calling as an artist and pride in the work I was creating. The fruition of my senior thesis exhibition was when I truly felt in line with what I was meant to do.

I fell in love with clay during my sophomore year in college. In the fall of 2012, I had the opportunity to study away near Yosemite National Park. This incredible program completely changed my life in a myriad of ways. From the rigorous humanities-based curriculum, genuine community of scholars, mountainous location in the Sierra, intimate relationships, to spiritual growth, I will forever be grateful for my time there. It was a time when I felt the most loved, known, and challenged. I think of it as a time of self-discovery. High Sierra provided me with the ability to live in equilibrium: on an emotional, spiritual, relational, academic, and physical level. It was there where I took my first ceramics class, in a cabin tucked away in Manzanita trees on a granite slab of rock.

In the subsequent years, I pursued functional ceramics, mostly wheel-thrown, and participated in various craft fairs and pop-ups after graduating from college. I am currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree from Claremont Graduate University.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Prior to starting this graduate program, I had been making functional ceramics, mostly tableware. I find value in the aesthetic purpose of the objects we are surrounded by. There is immeasurable significance in functional elements, which are typically used in the mundane and commonplace. I don’t think that art is limited to a gallery/museum, but is accessible and has so many contexts. I want to both reconcile and highlight an object’s utility purpose with something that is beautiful and distinguished. I still find this to be extremely important in my practice, and the direction I am taking now still incorporates these values. I am aware of the distinctions and divisions between fine art and craft, but do not see this as a tension or hindrance, but a beautiful coalescence.

I am exploring the concept of a vessel, and all of the connotations it has. The cup/functional object is an exchange or transaction (i.e. drinking), and usually signifies a communal gathering. Seedpods and pinecones— the protectors of seeds– carry with them the potential for new life. My art is about the hopeful reality of rebirth and renewal. Life (and beauty) comes from, and is even contingent upon, death. I desire to mimic and be a part of the rhythms, cycles, and processes of nature. The work is a symbol of the innate multiplicity and abundance found in nature.

I am interested in natural matter from the earth, such as tree bark, seedpods, pinecones, and rocks, and will often directly include them in the work. I like the play between representation and actual embodiment (the drawing of an object vs. the object itself). I work mainly in clay, graphite drawings, installation art, and painting. I enjoy making pencil renderings of still life objects that are removed from their context/environment. It is plucking out and isolating objects in order to draw attention and value to them.

I am passionate about nature, feminism, and theology, and seek to find connections and meaning between these studies in my art. The work is about highlighting the beauty that exists in nature, which reflects back to ourselves in our humanity. It claims recognition of something that transcends our physical world. We try to grasp at our perceptible world in order to make sense of it, but also as an access point to the immaterial and spiritual realm.

We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
It is lonely at times! For me, it is about having adequate time being with people, and then balancing that with times of solitude and working. I am more of an extrovert, so I keep my studio door open so my peers can pop in and say hi. It creates more of an open space for serendipitous conversation and connection. I enjoy inviting friends to go gallery hopping or visit museums on the weekends. It is also a great way to bring people that don’t consider themselves artists or know much about art to be involved in the conversation. It is so valuable to find a network of artists and be immersed in a community of makers. I have a network of faculty and peers from my undergraduate years that I am close with who support my artistic, personal, and professional endeavors. Finding a communal working space, becoming a member of a studio, or support groups are awesome ways to feel connected.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My work can be seen online at www.rachelbaydian.com or on Instagram at rachel_baydian. I have varying stockists, a web shop, and also take custom orders. You can subscribe to my email list to be in-the-know of events, shows, and happenings.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rachelbaydian.com
• Email: rachelbaydian@gmail.com
• Instagram: rachel_baydian
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rachelbaydianart

Image Credit:
Amanda Marsh
Diana Lake
Jonathan Yacoub

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