Taking the Plunge: Rachel Buker - Surviving and Thriving

Rachel Buker led an all day seminar for the Artist Trust EDGE Literary Grant program on copyright law that I attended. Sounds boring, but it wasn’t. An attorney having a background in the arts is an asset for young (and seasoned) artists on the rise.

One of my joys in profiling folks for Taking the Plunge is learning other facets of their personalities and, ultimately, liking them even better!

Rachel Buker

Spring gives me an itch like no other season. I have at least a half-dozen half-finished projects around the house right now. In the midst of a downpour today I decided it was high time to clean up the patio and adjoining garden area. The patio is a favorite spot on summer evenings, but it was definitely in need of a little TLC after a soggy winter. I found multiple wine corks swollen with rain in the garden. These corks provide me with some certainty that I am living right.

When I am not excavating wine corks from the garden or otherwise turning my condo upside down, I am an intellectual property lawyer, writer, traveler, knitter, and friend to animals.

Photo by Lydia Goolia

Who are you? List 5 words that define you!

Runner – Attorney – Confidante – Creative – Adventurer

What have you done that you’re most proud of?

There’re a lot of different things in my life that I am proud of, all the various facets of my education, playing musical instruments, having a very diverse array of wonderful, talented friends, being a Vermont native, becoming a long distance runner, and accumulating some really interesting stamps in my passport.

But, I think what I’m truly most proud of is surviving and thriving (although it certainly did not feel like thriving at the time) during some serious adversity—the kind of adversity that you do not choose, but that chooses you. These are the events that prove the true force of your own character. I have confidence and pride in that now.

If you could change one thing in your past, what would it be?

I honestly wish I had done more wild crazy things when I was younger. There really is no going back. I was far too serious and hardworking as a teenager.

On a personal level, what drives you crazy? What gives you joy?

What drives me crazy (in no particular order):negativity, entitlement,and sexism.

So very many things bring me joy (in no particular order): spending time with friends and family, raising my puppy and taking her on adventures, my cat purring in my ear when I fall asleep at night, traveling, pretty much everything about the Pacific Northwest, going to Sounders games (and watching EPL games on Saturday mornings), running (especially trail running), cooking pasta meals, discovering fantastic local wines, yoga, spending time on Vashon Island, great conversations, buying flowers for no particular reason, laughing until I cry, and desserts.

Given no restrictions (i.e. money/physical capabilities) – what would you most like to do?

I would devote a lot more productive energy to my creative endeavors and be far more prolific as an artist and a writer. I still feel a lot of anxiety hanging about my creative process, and I really wish it would just let me be.

I would also travel more and run at least ten more marathons.