Who is ‘Rachael the Snow Queen’?

In the simplest terms,

Rachael the Snow Queen is an artist who creates snowflake art through commissioned works (people ask for a custom snowflake), and through sales online, at art shows, comic-cons, and similar such venues (people buy snowflakes made ahead of time).

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Rachael the Snow Queen, all dressed up for a Mini Maker Faire at the Hickory Barnes & Noble, 2017.

The rest is a bit of a long story…

Her artwork has covered every subject she could dream up. From Superheroes to soap operas, and even Southern states, Rachael loves exploring all the possibilities that could become a treasured piece of snowflake art.

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“My Carolina Home,” a piece inspired by the Snow Queen’s home, North Carolina, cozy Christmas sweater patterns, and the warm, nostalgic feeling of being home for the Holidays.

Rachael will gladly tell you that she can turn anything into a snowflake, and has the range of art to prove it. Her snowflakes have been commissioned for public events, birthdays, wedding gifts, Christmas presents, and even baby shower gifts.

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“Wyatt”, meaning ‘Sturdy,’ or ‘Tree,’ uses branches to spell the name itself and gradually grows into a handsome tree on the outside of the snowflake. Also the name of a baby boy whose mother received this piece as a gift at a baby shower in 2018.

But why snowflakes?

Well, Rachael started making paper snowflakes the same way most people do: A young child making arts & crafts at school. She loved making all kinds of art in school, but snowflakes always had their own special kind of magic for Rachael, especially that moment when she opened up the snowflake for the first time, revealing the design hidden within. It reminded her of being a kid on Christmas morning. So she kept making more.

That childlike wonder and nostalgia for Christmas as a kid has always stuck with her.
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Rachael the Santa Claus, age 3

Much later, when she was in college, studying music, Rachael found herself close to the Holidays, but nervous for her exams and singing jury (A musical performance exam). She had studied as much as her brain could handle, and practiced singing until her voice nearly gave out, but was full of nervous energy between exams. What could she possibly do to calm her nerves when she was stuck at school all day?

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A treble clef musical snowflake suddenly appeared overnight in the Dalton building at Western Michigan University, along with a whole paper snowflake display, during exams week (Photo credit: Becky Schut)

One day, during exams week, Rachael asked to borrow some scissors from the cafe where she had been studying all semester and began cutting out paper snowflakes. They started out simple, like the shapes you might see in a school hallway or a shop window, but as she continued to cut, and cut, and fold, and cut, and fold, and cut, and fold, and draw, and cut, and fold, and draw, and cut…

The snowflakes became something more than ‘just’ paper snowflakes.

They became the tiny bits of magic Rachael had imagined them to be when she was small, watching the snow falling in the light of a street lamp from her bedroom window, while an otherworldly hush fell over the street.

As she practiced and practiced, the snowflakes took on a life of their own, becoming castles, portraits, wizards, heroes, villains, and stories of life, loss, friendship, and love.

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Hogwarts Castle from Harry Potter Snowflake
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Hogwarts Castle at Universal Studios. Photo credit: Carlos Cruz, used via Creative Commons License

Now, Rachael continues the tradition borne of over 15 years’ practice by cutting each original snowflake by hand, using only scissors, paper, and a vivid imagination.

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Rachael at one of her first public events, the Christmas in Morganton Craft Fair

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. If you are interested in commissioning a snowflake or have any questions, please visit the Contact page to send me a message. -Rachael