Rachel Tirosh’s second act as an artist is proof of life beyond high-tech. While it may appear that her work as an electronics engineer for over twenty years has influenced her creative process as an artist, the truth is quite the opposite. Her success as an engineer can be attributed to her willingness to think outside the box and apply her imagination and hands-on enthusiasm to those high tech projects. A self-taught artist, she grew up in a family who believed in the do-it-yourself model. Her father was always fixing things; taking things apart and putting them back together. Her mother enjoyed a variety of crafty pursuits and did quite a bit of painting as well. Consequently, raw materials were readily available to build more craft projects.

As an electrical engineer, Tirosh spent a significant amount of time learning and following specific rules to design electronic systems. High tech criteria for success involves strict adherence to the specifications. With art, this is not the case and she relishes the freedom of no right or wrong way to create. Art simply invites the desire for free expression without boundaries or rules. Art invites the freedom to have fun.

She never knows what the results will be when starting work on a canvas. As an abstract non-representational mixed-media artist, she layers her paintings with ordinary materials to give them a 3-D texture on the canvas. The layering process only stops when the painting is pleasing to her. Any interpretation of the paintings is always in the eyes of the individual viewer.

While not a rebel, Tirosh is quick to point out that she’s not going for chaos with her art. There are no rules, so she isn’t breaking any rules. She is playing with texture and colors and the feeling of the message of the art.

One message she is sharing with budding artists is to be curious about the world of art. Volunteering her time as a docent for the Project LOOK program at the Palo Alto Art Center, Tirosh steps outside her comfort zone to share her passion for art. This 30-year old program offers hands-on fun and educational art experiences to elementary students where the participants not only see art; they make art as well.

She has come a long way since first making polymer clay items for sale at her children’s elementary school auction. More sophisticated polymer clay items came next and mixed-media abstract paintings have joined the scope of her expertise. She now participates in open studios and shows throughout the Bay Area and her work can be viewed at ACCI Gallery in Berkeley CA