2020

It used to be that when the numbers "2020" came out of my mouth it was in reference to hindsight or dateline... unfortunately this year changed all of that.

I, like about 2 million others, work in the entertainment industry. I was also working as Wardrobe Head on the first national touring production of Nick Jr Live! when suddenly, in a matter of a day, I lost my job indefinitely.

I had a plane ticket and my life in two suitcases, but most fortunately, I had my childhood room at my Dad's to go to. This wasn't the case for everybody.

But we all know and are very familiar with the bad. Many of us are doing the best we can given the year that we've had, and I don't want to dwell on these things we cannot change. (I'll leave that divulgence for journaling). Instead I hope to acknowledge some good and recap a little on what's happened since my last post, as well as some site updates.

I had a great time challenging myself on the road- I'd been touring since the last time I posted here. I grew beyond my comfort zone and gained so much wisdom; I truly couldn't be more thankful for the experiences.

Touring was like living in dog years. Each tour felt the equivalent of 7 years, when in reality they would be 7 months (give or take 3 months). I had the kind of schedule that could mean "sit down weeks" in cities (with a few days off) or no day off (that didn't include traveling somewhere via plane or bus), sometimes for weeks on end. For the most part during that time I'd only return home for about 2 weeks in-between tours or at Christmas.

I continued bodypainting and my other art hobbies while traveling despite, at times, being totally exhausted- mostly for fear of being out of practice! Through my perseverance I was finally able to complete my first "31 Days of Halloween" challenge in 2018, doing a body or face paint every day of the month...and most of the time I was legitimately getting off of work, painting myself or someone else, photographing it, and posting the finished work all on the same night. You can see all of the posts on my instagram: @rachelagilmour

I loved the friends I made, the adventures I had, and the art I created. I hope this isn't the last of my career in entertainment, but in the meantime I'm leaning into the fact that I've had many loves.

During my time in quarantine I took up getting a Graphic Design Diploma and learned how to create my art using vectors in Illustrator, and have since been working on custom vector pet portraits (in addition to my watercolor portraits and other logo, tattoo, line art, etc requests). If you're interested in a pet portrait or any custom art please visit my contact page!

I've also been able to keep my sewing and design chops up to par through a couple of projects so far: by making face masks for donation and sale, and doing the costume designs and builds for San Antonio Zoo's rhino mascot, "Cowboy" (to help make him festive for the holidays; I look forward to sharing it all with you in time)! To view the available mask designs click here and to make a purchase inquiry please visit the contact page.

I have no idea what the future brings, but I do my best to remain optimistic and hope that I can hold onto the dream I dreamed when I first fell in love with theatre arts...when I first escaped into a book, lost myself in a movie, got sucked into a painting, or flew away in a song.

Here's to the love,

Rachel