Featured Artist
Highline Heritage Museum

Painter Rachel Bender is featured at the Highline Heritage Museum October 1-December 31, 2025 in an exhibit titled Polygon Party, a vibrant exploration of the playful possibilities of abstraction through bold lines, sharp angles, and saturated hues.

“Color is joy; life should embrace the bold and the whimsical. I’m obsessively drawn to bright color palettes, sharp lines, and geometric shapes. I enjoy creating colorful landscapes with prismatic elements, often inspired by my travels,” she said.

“I paint on stretched canvases, cradled wood panels, or cotton paper. I prefer acrylic, gouache, and watercolor paints, and then seal/protect each piece with varnish and/or other mediums, “she continued.

“My process involves creating several studies – usually over the course of many days – before I find my rhythm. For every painting I put out into the world, there are twenty paintings and illustrations left on the cutting room floor,” she said.

Rachel has been “painting, drawing, and doodling for as long as I can remember and became fascinated with pottery and sculpting after taking a ceramics course in college almost 20 years ago. My grandfather was a Master Carpenter who inspired my love of woodworking and all things handmade,” she explained.

Rachel earned a BA in English Linguistics and Creative Writing at the University of Houston and an MA there as well in cross-cultural studies, especially gender and identity in the visual arts. She then earned her JD from Seattle University and went on the practice law for about ten years, specializing in family law. She has deep experience in litigation, negotiation, and contracts.

Rachel was named a Washington Rising Star by Super Lawyers, 2018–2021, and listed in Top Women Lawyers by Seattle Met, 2018–2021. Her rating on Avvo.com in 2020 was 10.0 “Superb”. The Washington State Bar Association gave her a Pro Bono Service Commendation 2016, 2019–2020 for her work.

She is currently product counsel for Free Will, a firm that “builds technology to make the largest and most impactful charitable donations easier for donors to give and simpler for nonprofit organizations to receive.”

She has exhibited at the Log House Museum, West Seattle, as part of the West Seattle Art Walk and was a finalist in a juried exhibit at Blue Koi Gallery, an online gallery.

Rachel lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.

See more of Rachel’s work on her website https://bolohei.com/, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bolohei/?hl=en and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/p/Bolohei-Studio-61567779744222/

All works are for sale by the artist.