Rachel writes:
I use found items (from animal remains to plant life to garbage) to work through my struggles with chronic pain and illness. I have been battling severe pelvic pain for the last 17 years (since my first period). Things only got worse after the hysterectomy when I was 22. Guilt and suffering are prominent in my self-portrait pieces. It is a difficult thing to really look at yourself, discover what is underneath, and then portray that for all the world to see.