About

Rachel O'Connell

Hello, I'm Rachel, the founder and designer-maker at ROCWORX. I am a multi-media marbling artist and educator, living in the South Hams, Devon. I have over 30 years experience in marbling and trained as a leatherworker over 15 years ago.

I began marbling in my teens and have since worked with artists all over the world, learning and layering up the skills for my marbling craft in a creative environment. I combined marbling on leatherwork over a decade ago.

As a sustainable artist, working towards being net zero aligned, I use natural materials and repurpose synthetic textiles, some of which are donated by local and national organisations, such as the Royal Opera and Ballet.

I have a background in, and love for, textile art, sewing and printing, all of which influence my designs. I have worked in printing, as a silk screen printer, in interior design, as a seamstress and upholsterer and in mainstream education and community arts projects with indigenous groups overseas. I also trained in accounting and worked in finance for a number of years. Marbling remained a creative hobby for many years, a chance for me to de-stress from my busy working life.

The pandemic allowed me time to create and, after making a number of items, I launched my sustainable brand, ROCWORX, in 2021. It has been a steep learning curve for the business side, but I have found great mentorship with Small Business Britain and Theo Paphitis as an SBS winner. It took me a few years to find my creative 'voice' and style, making lots of products, until I realised that though I can make anything, I don't have to make everything! Since launching ROCWORX I have exhibited and sold work in Manchester Art Gallery, Dulwich Picture Gallery, The British Museum, Weald and Downland Living Museum, Brantwood Museum, Craftworks (London Craft Week), Handmade Oxford and MAKE Southwest. As a Heritage Crafts maker, I have also sold, demonstrated and tutored workshops at Craft Festival, Bovey Tracey, Devon and at Cardigan Castle, Wales.

2024 Exhibitions

16 November - 24 December

'Present Makers’ Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton

20 makers offering quality hand craft gifts for Christmas

27 July - 22 September

'Pull the Thread - textiles for a cool planet'

20 sustainable textile artists work curated by Blue Patch John Ruskin's Studio at Brantwood Museum.

Exhibition piece CHOWA Suminagashi silk kimono and obi £475.00 Using dead-stock silk, saved from landfill with double layered Suminagashi ink marbling. John Ruskin loved pattern and nature and the pattern reflects the harmony of air over water.

Check my News + Events page for more information on these events and upcoming events later in the year and for booking links. I am a proud member of Heritage Crafts, MAKE Southwest, Devon Artists Network, Crafts Council, Find A Maker, Leather UK and The Society of Bookbinders. As a sustainable artist, I am also a member of the Green Maker's Initiative with Make Southwest and the B2B sustainable makers charity, Blue Patch. I am also part of ACID - Anti Copying in Design, a great organisation for legal representation and information for copyright.

My creative journey has also taken me down the path of teaching...

In the past few years it has been my privilege to tutor workshops in mainstream education from primary to A Level and with SEND students. I also work with community groups and for MAKE Southwest’s National Saturday Club, tutoring teenagers who wish to pursue art as a career. I have privately tutored trauma survivors too, helping them in their healing journey.

I am a tutor at West Dean College. I also volunteer as a Speaker for Schools, tutoring students interested in a career in art. I tutor marbling and marbled product design The Creative Dimensions Trust, an educational charity set up to help disadvantaged teenagers be taught art skills and crafts to develop and pursue a career in art.

Marbling is a beautiful, mindful craft. My workshops offer a safe space to create, play with colour, make mistakes and learn through failing, but most importantly, have FUN! Even after over 30 years of marbling, mistakes happen and when a new beautiful pattern appears as a result, I like to call it a happy accident. I am always learning.

When marbling, you learn that you cannot always control the outcome, nor make the same pattern twice, only a similar pattern, as the paints tend to move over the water, so you learn that it is about the process of creativity. The breath-work involved is mindful, helping focus the mind and can ease anxiety.

Marbling is classed as an endangered heritage craft. My hope is to show that this heritage craft can be used in contemporary design. My aim is to create beautiful, practical products to wear and use every day in the home and to wear and also help educate, with the goal to pass on this beautiful craft to future generations. I marble using traditional Turkish, European and Japanese techniques, incorporating marbling into my textile items, including leather, as well as my embossed printmaking art work and paper stationery.

I work with leather as it is a sustainable material, a by-product of the food industry and is compostable. It is a beautiful, yet robust, practical material and, if cared for, will last for hundreds of years, unlike synthetic materials. If you want to know more about the leather or marbling process, I've popped a bit more information in my Leather and Leather Care and Marbling pages.

In memory of our first dog, Amber the Sprollie.

Forever remembered, playing with a ball at Burgh Island, Bigbury-on-Sea, South Devon

Thank you for visiting my store and following my creative journey.

♥︎ ROC