Big, Bold, Jubilant: Art inspires healing

By Debbie Hall

Photos courtesy of Rachelle Knight

Rachelle Knight, approached by the city of Mesquite, has donated her time to transform several electrical utility boxes into works of art as shown above.

Out of darkness comes brightness with bursting colors, bold shapes, and positive messages. This is the art of Rachelle Knight, transforming her life through painting in acrylic on canvas while fighting one of her most challenging battles.

In April 2013, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, resulting in four months of chemotherapy and five operations, including a double mastectomy and reconstruction completed in December 2013.

“I have always been into art and creativity since I was young,” explains Knight. “During 2013, I was in a bad depression, but after facing my mortality at the age of 40, I was given a new lease on life. It might sound cliché, but it was a wake-up call.”

In 2014, she created and grew her healing garden, where Knight could sit, enjoy the sun and plants, and reflect. Later that year, the town where she lives held an art competition, and Knight wanted to get her (then) 10-year-old son involved. They both entered their artwork, and that inspired her to really pursue art.

“I called that my second healing time,” she laughs. “I put my soul into it, making it super bright with flowers, and I knew my soul needed beauty.”

She is proud of her art involving cannabis, especially how it relates to health. In fact, a dispensary exhibited her cannabis paintings for over a year. Knight is from Utah and, while the state recently approved medicinal cannabis, it remains difficult to obtain.

Knight is now a professional artist, selling her artwork and frequently exhibits her work at the Mesquite Fine Arts Center. Recently, after being approached by the city of Mesquite, she donated her time to transform several electrical utility boxes into works of art. On the corner of Pioneer and Mesa boulevards, the scenes depict cultivating, growing, and harvesting the Virgin Valley’s first cash crop of cotton. Her joyful expressions spread healing to the public as well as for herself.

For more info about Rachelle Knight, visit rrknight.com and follow on Instagram @rrkfineart