RE LOG Fall 2017

12 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2017 Rachel Feinstein ’89 shared her abundant creativity with Ransom Everglades School in ways that were not always appreciated during her years on campus. She did not see the artistic merit in the school uniform of the day – pastel jumpers and crisp white shirts – so, in fits of inspiration, she would frequently and significantly alter her outfit. She found that ripping the circular rims from lampshades and attaching them to the bottom of the skirt with a glue gun produced a desirable, hoop-like effect. “Then I would hike it up really short, of course,” she explained, “and make it look like it was a Little Bo Peep kind of skirt.” She would add leggings with black and white stripes, or ruffles, and giant wedge shoes popular at the time. She typically found herself in the office of Head of School Frank J. Hogan III the next day. “He was very tough and by the book,” Feinstein recalled by phone from her art studio in New York. “But he would actually be super- sweet to me. He would say, ‘I understand you are making an artistic statement, Rachel. And I understand that it means a lot to you to make that statement. But I have a job to keep, and you are making it very difficult.’ So I would tone it down a bit.” Feinstein toned it down enough to graduate from Ransom Everglades and earn an invitation to attend Columbia University, yet she continued to develop and showcase the creative genius that has helped her become one of New York’s most recognized sculptors, and which has defined her art since her earliest days. Known for her surreal, grand, baroque pieces that fire imaginations and fill entire rooms, Feinstein credits Ransom Everglades with providing the foundation that helped allow her creativity to bloom. “The great structure Ransom Everglades gave me is actually what every artist needs,” she said. “After you get that structure, you can do your own thing and be wild. And you can try new things. But you need that foundation.” The birth of creativity Feinstein’s artistic instincts spilled out during her childhood. She describes herself as the black sheep of a science-minded Miami family. Her father was a dermatologist, her mother a nurse. Her sister became a veterinarian. Old VHS tapes from Feinstein’s childhood show her sitting alone, cutting up boxes and reassembling them into elaborate designs, as other children ran, swam and played together. The one who could relate best to her uninhibited imagination was her maternal grandmother, who had always been interested in arts, crafts, home decorating, sewing and design, and who took up painting in her 60s. Feinstein and her grandmother attended painting classes in Coconut Grove and took drawing lessons near the Kampong. “We would do it together,” Feinstein said. “It was really special. My grandmother always identified with me.” Some of Feinstein’s early artistic endeavors ran into as much trouble as her uniform alterations. As a child she created a sneaker sculpture by dipping sneakers in plaster Building Beauty Rachel Feinstein ’89 brings fantasy to life in her sculptures Feinstein’s yearbook page.