Rachel Rader is a maker and a storyteller living in Brooklyn, NY. Her artwork is a direct influence of her childhood in Florida, where she first started dreaming of mermaids while making jewelry from shells on the beach. Rader received her Bachelor in Fine Arts for Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in Richmond, VA in 2006. She has since been dedicated to making, teaching, and working in the arts. Rader has taught at Pratt Fine Arts Center, Schack Art Center, Penland School of Crafts, and UrbanGlass. She has exhibited her work at a myriad of institutions including: UrbanGlass Gallery, Bullseye Gallery, Racine Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art in Norfolk, VA, and The Society of Contemporary Craft.