Rae Melina Rodriguez on Digging For Roots
Rae Melina Rodriguez is an artist rooted in deep reverence for the natural world. A farmer, herbs woman, bodyworker, yoga teacher, rock climber and avid explorer of untamed places, her creative process is embodied not only in her art but in everything she does.
I could think of no greater person to ask about the artistic process, the stewardship of herbal medicine, and the drive to offer hands-on therapeutics, as Rae Melina is among the most down to earth humans on the planet. Rae is a gem not only to behold, but beloved equally by the people, plants and animals she works with. Inspiration is redefined within her work that is both uplifting and deeply satisfying. Today it is my honor to share her insights on the how to nourish oneself, and living true to the creative muse that scratches at her fingertips.
What is your relationship like with art?
The way I see or relate to art is the act of creativity in any form. As far as drawing goes and painting and ceramics, I’ve been making art in those forms since I was a little girl. For me I notice it’s the only thing I feel is worth doing. Obviously, I have to do other things too, but when I start feeling drained or no longer clear on what it is that I’m doing, I notice it’s when I haven’t really delved into any creative outlet. And that could even be within a few weeks of not doing anything creative, so it happens really quickly. Even just drawing at night, making pottery or making murals, for me everyday there has to be some satiation for the creative spirit. My relationship with it is living or trying to embody my creative spirit in whatever I’m doing. It doesn’t need to be this planned out piece. It can be the most simple acts. I see opportunities for expression and art in pretty much everything I do. It’s always fun to explore that part of myself, and I think a lot of us do that. It’s maybe not as conscious as we realize, but we’re all engaging in that in some way.
What most greatly inspires your creative process?
I think I’m most inspired by the land around me, and whatever that encompasses, everything from animals to plants, different colors of soil and landscapes. Lately my work has been a lot of plants and animals, but I notice that mainly they are things that are around me. My last big drawing was white owl, poppies and passion flowers. And black tailed deer and foxes, ferns and fungus, all things I interact with, I feel the need to draw them. Even when I’m at my farming job, there’s a joke that the people I work with will say, ‘Hey, I see a plant that you might want to draw’. It’s kind of my way of sitting with and relating to that thing. Taking the time to sit down and study it, then draw it in detail helps me remember the plant, or the animal, or sit with the experience of encountering it for the first time. Or maybe it’s something I encounter all the time. It’s like having an homage for something, like paying respect by sitting and taking the time to honor it through drawing it. It’s also just really relaxing for me to draw things, and not have to think too hard about anything, but just draw things that I think are beautiful and fascinating.
Do you ever get something similar to writer’s block with your art, and have to find motivation beyond an obstacle?
I don’t really feel like I get a creative block where I don’t know what I want to produce, because I have all of these concepts and things I hold in my brain and want to be working on. It’s more about having the actual time and energy to prioritize work like that. I’m more in a position now with work and studies where I’m having to learn how to prioritize having time to create what I want. There’s no real block for visions of things that I would like to birth creatively, it’s just having physical energy to sit. But it’s also a double edged sword, because once I sit down and start, it gives me energy. I’ll feel tired and tell myself ‘no, I’m not going to start a whole new drawing because it’s 11:00 at night and I just got home from class’, but once I start sitting and working on a project, just being in that act of creating it feels so energizing and nourishing. It’s just getting over that bump and diving in. Also, it’s been an interesting year. I’ve had more things than I usually do pulling me away from my art, but the art is still there, scratching at me and wanting to be made. Still it feels like the most important part of myself, the part that I love the most, and no matter where I am, I’m learning to have a deeper relationship with it.
You mentioned your art seems to scratch at you for attention. Do you give it a name, whatever that creative muse is?
I’ve never really thought of it as a muse, but it’s definitely something that I’m constantly aware of, from the time I wake up until I go to bed. And when I’m not working on my creative projects, I’m thinking about them. It’s constant, and that’s another reason why it’s challenging too, because the way that I draw means I’m committed to them because they take a long time. I can’t start new things until I’m finished with something. It’s part of my personality I guess, I don’t start things I can’t finish, and I don’t move on to other things until a project is completed. So, there’s this part of me that knows, if I pick up the pen tonight, I’m going to be agonizing over it for the next few months until I’m done. But then I just keep doing it to myself again. So it’s kind of like this funny thing where I tell myself, ‘don’t start it’, but it’s all I really want to do at the same time. When you’re in that creative zone where nothing else exists, there’s something really sacred about that place, and I think everyone has experienced that. It’s that pure state of creativity where you’re not in your head, and where suddenly you’ve been drawing for ten hours. It’s the space that I feel really good in, and that’s why I keep doing it. And then there’s some days where it takes me all day to do a couple inches of a drawing, and I’m like ‘what am I doing?” [laughs].
“I guess I don’t have down time, but I feel like with a lot of the things I do, even though I’m in the act of doing them, they’re nourishing me simultaneously. All of these things I do, if I’m working with my hands, milking goats, harvesting sprouts, making salves, oil blends or elixirs, it’s satiating to me.”
Not only do you create amazing artwork, you also make herbal medicine, farm, practice bodywork, and tend to a small flock of goats. In your down time what do you do to nourish yourself?
I guess I don’t have down time, but I feel like with a lot of the things I do, even though I’m in the act of doing them, they’re nourishing me simultaneously. All of these things I do, if I’m working with my hands, milking goats, harvesting sprouts, making salves, oil blends or elixirs, it’s satiating to me. And things where I’m not able to work with my hands, or having to do things on a computer, those are things that feel draining. I don’t have to do those things very often, but the reason I don’t is because they are so draining. I feel like I get a lot of juice from the things I am committed to, and I don’t really have anything in my life that I dread doing, or don’t like doing on a day to day basis. If I want to do self care, or treat myself, I’ll get tattooed. That’s when I can really relax or I’ll go out hiking without a destination or to forage or just meander around. And I sleep really well, so that’s my self care too.
Tell us about your experience with the ritual of being tattooed.
It kind of goes back to being in that state of mind where you’re very present, where I don’t know if you’re zoned out or you’re zoned in, but similar to what I feel when I’m drawing, I go to that place when I’m being tattooed. And most of my tattoos are by the same woman, my very good friend Annelise. It’s the same reason I love yoga and exercise, you’re with your breath and you’re right there at that edge where you can’t go anywhere else. I like being in those spaces, it’s a nice break in the world that we live in. There’s a lot of distraction, or ability to go a lot of places in your head, and I don’t even feel like I’m a super heady person so even that being said, it’s nice for me to be in that quiet space. And it’s really more about the process than the outcome for me, and as an artist I don’t really want my own work on me. I like holding the opportunity for others to have this fleshy canvas to have some freedom on, and for me it takes trust to be vulnerable within that space, which is also very soothing.
If you were a plant or an animal, what would you be and why?
The first thing that came to mind is osha root, and I’m not sure why. Something about the smell, and that plant is very dear to me. I’ve had a lot of dreams about it, and sometimes I wonder am I a bear or am I a root, because I have dreams where I’m sitting on a bear that’s digging up a root. I can see my hands gripping onto its fur, and it feels real, watching this bear snuff around for osha root. I don’t know if it’s necessarily a bear dream, or an osha dream, but it’s definitely a special plant that I hold in high regard. I don’t use it or harvest it, just because I love it so much, I just hold it in this really high place. I don’t know if I would be osha, but I definitely would be honored to be it. There’s a lot of plants that I feel that way about, having so much reverence for them.
Learn more about Rae
Stay in touch with Rae Melina Rodriguez, and see more of her original art pieces, prints and clothing for sale on Etsy and be sure to follow her on Instagram at @raemelina.
