EMMA RARICK (she/her)

Painter | Textile Artist | Disability Advocate | Remote Workflow Expert

Emma’s love of a grounding deep blue drum beat and her acrylic painting serve as an accessible sanctuary she can return to when life gets overwhelming. Her “Seeing & Feeling Sound” series contrasts a sense of overwhelm with control, as she projects her attempts to cope with her bodily reactions to sound’s stimulation through clay and canvas. She aims to provide access to documentations of authentic sensory disability experiences to help initiate innovation by inviting the brilliant brains of the uninvited to the art world. The quick speed of the sound leaves canyons of clay where the tactile memory of sound remains present.

Abstracted overlapping colors reign over her compositional environments to visually represent the physical pressure of sound waves. As she moves through spaces and documents her experiences, fragments of the body wave in and out of her vision and proprioception senses. Emma’s work seeks to create space to experience the world with more self-awareness and optimism.

Emma grew up with a supportive family that always made her feel capable of achieving her dreams and taught her how to overcome accessibility obstacles by painting her own path forwards. Currently, she works as an Art Instructor at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and a Disability Support Resource Leader & Textile Artist at Kohl’s. Her career pays support forwards by advocating for formal education and accessible disability support resources for others.