Hi! I’m Sam Michelle Rainville of Rainville Studio.

I am brightly colored and layered which comes out in my art. My often brightly colorful and at times sparkly paintings are filled with a multitude of mediums and medias, textured, with bits of written and drawn detail, and some obscuration. My woodwork is often connected to puns or an alternate take on an idea. My brightly colored assemblage evoke emotions, nostalgia, and self inspection. 

2024 works are abstract sculptures, paintings, and stickers. 2022-2023 works were large and small scale paintings, wooden sculptures (a robot cat, a tree out of dimensional lumber, an “kids” set of “woodworking tools”, and an enlarged painted heart shape). Recently, I was a featured guest artist at Downtown Seattle’s October Art Walk. I have shown mostly as an individual, locally upon living in California, internationally in Germany and the Philippines, and locally in Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond.

I seek to understand more permanent fabrication. I worked in small scale metal, screen printing, and woodworking. As an emerging artist, I am starting to find my footing and am open to receiving mentorship and fabrication support. I am interested in taking my ideas and style into metal, vinyl wrapping, or tile. I will be increasing the scale of my work.

My pieces illicit conversation starting, feeling, and play. I am moving towards a public art practice as I seek to impact more people and help them connect to themselves and the world and community around them. I seek to remind others that we are most vibrant together. I interpret the human stories around me through my sensorial art. My goal is for us both to feel rather than be numb. 

Current mediums of interest:

Public Art, Art education, graphic design, stickers, screenprinting, stained glass, painting, alcohol inks, and gelli printing.

I am a non-binary transgender, queer, parent, partner, artist, poet, educator, maker, and woodworker. Having PTSD and doing impactful mental health work for it, drives me to help de-stigmatize it. My diverse and adverse life experiences led to self evolution, reparenting while living multigenerational, and adapting to life with with chronic pain. I consider myself emerging; yet, I am a lifetime teacher, maker, and creative. I am authentic and direct.

I feel connection to others helps us process life’s grieving, joyful, mundane, or intense moments. I enjoy facilitating discussion and emotional connection, then integrating big feelings into writing, graphics, sculptures, or complex layering works. Recently making stickers, sculptures, mixed media collaging, and paintings. I am working on increasing sculpture scale presently.

Project management and creativity developed through an apprenticeship in Finish Carpentry, minimal after Bachelor’s education in visual arts after a non-creative BA, being a medical advocate and caregiver, the 2023 Redmond Public Art Intensive, the 2023 Downtown Redmond Art Walk (my first temporary public art piece), extensive moves (more than 34), and vast work experience. I have administrative, design, marketing, branding, and problem solving skills. Creatively, I am a mixed media artist, painter, sculptor, and screen printer. 

I enjoy working alone or with a team. I lead, develop meetings and workshops, and speak publicly. Was a building assistant for other’s installations or stages; and have extensive art department and locations production experience. I build and refinish furniture. I volunteer with diverse causes and delight when they intersect – STEAM, education, mental health, permaculture, social justice, gender, and the outdoors. My technical, social emotional learning, outdoors, or art workshops have spanned ages from preschool to elders.

Influences: grief, shared stories, chronic pain, aging, movement, typography, bright colors, murals, Japanese woodcuts, and art journaling.

Also, when you buy or support my creative endeavors, I donate portions of my proceeds to groups listed on my “Art for Good page” – if you think I should know about a different or more direct way to benefit those in need – please reach out!