Rachel Parris - Birmingham, AL

1.  What do you call yourself - art wise?  Art Quilter
2.  How do you jump start your creativity when you are in a slump?   I visit my favorite blogs, read Quilting Arts Magazines, talk to my artist friends, look at old photos, get outside...woods, mountains, beach...outside.
3.  If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your art?  Hard one. I suspect I would be more prolific.
4.  Do you keep a sketchbook, journal, etc.?  I have just begun this year to keep an art journal of sorts. A good friend gave me a little journal for Christmas that has sparked this effort. I do keep a life journal, and have for a while now.
5.  Where can people see your other work this year?  I have a quilt in the Alliance for the American Quilt fundraiser that can be viewed online or in Paducah if you happen to be going to the show there.
6.  Do you teach?  No, I learn.
7.  Is there a particular artist who had influenced you in your art life?   I would not be an art quilter had it not been for the persistent, long-time nudging of my long-time friend Frances Holliday Alford. She not only nudged (incessantly), she led, she taught, she provided materials, books, other resources, and best of all she generously introduced me to a circle of incredible women who have enriched my life in more ways than I can count.
8. Where or what show do you hope your work will be in someday?  I would love to be in the Digital Image section of the International Quilt Festival in Houston.
9.  Describe your studio workspace.  My workspace is my dining room.
10.  What 3 tools could you not live without?   My computer, my rotary cutter/cutting mat, and Mistyfuse.
11.  What drives you to make the work that you do?   I have something to say.
12.  How do you balance your life?    I am fortunate to be at a stage in my life where balance is not the issue it might have been several years ago. I am retired without children. I enjoy incredible support  and encouragement from a loving husband. However, if a choice is necessary, family always comes first if the needs are real. Also, my husband and I have recently started a business; and like any newborn, when it needs my attention, it gets it. Life is good!  I am so happy!