Rachel Bancroft is an artist, calligrapher, graphic designer and writer. She first became interested in calligraphy and lettering as a 5th grader. She spent hours addressing envelopes with fancy letters to pen pals and cutting out cool fonts from magazines. She continued her study of art, lettering and graphic design in high school and college. She earned a B.A. in Design from Brigham Young University, where she focused on graphic design and communications, subsequently working in those fields for six years. 

 

While raising and homeschooling her two children, Rachel created calligraphy and painting projects for family members and took classes from renowned teachers through the Portland Society for Calligraphy. She introduced her first major body of work in 2020: watercolors, ink and calligraphy that focused on her love of nature and becoming connected to the earth. 

 

Rachel’s current body of work is a major shift from her previous work. This collection reflects a “dark night of the soul,” an excruciating period of several years in which Rachel went through intense mental health therapy, her spiritual crisis intensified, and her marriage crumbled. She turned to abstract intuitive painting with acrylics on canvas, to process emotions and complex challenges. The paintings and calligraphic work reflect the pain of divorce, frustrations with her church, a major shift in spiritual beliefs and attempting to find peace again.