Rachel Creemers (she/her)
Self- Bio: I’m an animator and communications specialist. I currently work as a motion graphics animator in Somerville for a local ed-tech company, I volunteer with local activist groups, and I freelance as an artist and video editor.
Year of div: 2014
Name of Div: Animation and Storyboarding
Summary of Div: I created a short film based off music from spirited away that was entirely traditionally hand-drawn.
Hampshire’s influence: It taught me how to manage a team, how to “work sideways” (how to jump around between different projects in a larger project in case you got bored), it taught me how much more to the animation process I was missing, it introduced me to editing, and it helped me appreciate how important preproduction was.
But mostly it helps remind me that there is no one way to make a movie and that many paths are valid, it just all comes down to a question of time.
What place on campus was significant to you?: ASH. I lived there most of my time at Hampshire because I was working so much. I had such a heavy schedule that in my third year, I would compete with other animation div 3s over how late we would stay. We called the game “king of the lab”. The farm was also pretty important to me though. It was a nice quiet place to stroll through, and, when I was completely broke and hungry my second year, I would sneak over and steal tomatoes, green beans, what have you, and be able to stir fry them and feed myself. The open farm kept me fed from time to time and I greatly appreciate that.
Describe the on-campus place as you remember it.: ASH: a bluish interior that always hummed. The carpet was scratchy but clean and the drome always had a soft light on that made it perfect for zoning into work. I remember a blue couch outside of the computer rooms that I would occasionally crash on, and the spiderman figurine, typically posed in a lewd position with the mario in the Drome. ASH was almost always quiet unless my friends and I were causing trouble, like bowling each other down the hallways, or playing tag with a ball (which one time our teacher joined us and broke one of the lights!). The office in the back was typically open and full of the paper I needed for my project. And there were so many meetings held there I could typically scrounge enough food that I wouldn’t have to leave.
What place off-campus was significant to you? : I really liked going to Rao’s Cafe. It was the coffee place I liked best because of their chai tea. They always made it with a little design on top and it made me feel very fancy. It was a very special treat for me every time. I would go there to edit and draw, and the atmosphere always calmed me down and allowed me to focus. It was also a place where I could clear my head from any drama occurring on campus.
Describe the off-campus place as you remember it. : I remember it as brown and tan, with lots of stone on the floor and walls. There were large windows on the front of the building, and a janky bathroom in a corner. I distinctly remember how few power outlets there were, and how packed it usually was, typically with other college students just trying to focus. It always smelled like coffee and had a delicous array of pastries attached to their counter. If I allowed myself to splurge, I would get a croissant.
Dear Div 3 Rachel,
I want to start out telling you that you are not, and never become, a skull queen. You become fierce, but never heartless, despite being pretty much flat broke for the entirety of the decade. There are going to be a lot of things that hit you after this year, so relish every moment with your friends, as I know you will. Take more pictures if you can, especially of that view out your window in Mod 67 of that tree. I know you burned the seasonal changes into your mind but do it anyway. I wish I could see the leaves change, and the snowfall, and the tree bloom just one more year. But that memory will calm you in the hard times to come.
Despite not sleeping for most of your Div III, you will not feel like you did enough this year, and that your work is unimpressive. Know that the work you did helped you build your entire career and allowed you to not only survive, but eventually thrive as an artist in Boston. Like seriously, that nonsense you pull with After Effects and learning Adobe coding in Chris’s class is the number one most important thing to your survival. Your art is soft, melancholy, and pretty, and it just takes time to mature an art style that’s a bit different. It’s not “a dead form of animation” as some of your classmates will tell you throughout the year. As you learn more about the world of animation, you will see so many paths open up before you because you cranked on the basics again and again. Take pride in your patience, and the skills you took the time to learn.
It allows you to be versatile in a market that doesn’t know art. You use your hard earned skills to teach kids, and help them conduct art therapy, you make latte art that makes people smile, you draw your friends’ intimate moments so they can relive happy memories. The problem solving abilities you cultivate this year help you become a political strategist, as all it really is telling and selling a story, something you absolutely hammered into your brain. The phrase you crystallize of “Think sideways” this year opens up so many job opportunities, and even helps you save Hampshire College down the road. You adapt to survive, and when you start thriving, you take the freaking wheel and gun it.
Keep trying to work things out with that boy you are “not having a relationship with”. He’s your life partner. He keeps you sane when a global pandemic strikes and supports you in exactly the way you need to grow.
Know that Hampshire nurtured your desire to question, and gave you a safe testing ground for that. People don’t seem to like the blunt questions outside of Hampshire, but you do it anyway and it makes the world a better place, even if you draw some serious fire for it. You become the tank you always wanted to be, and that inspires people around to you be more kind, learn, and try.
As a final note, these friends you are living with this final year are amazing people. Try to keep in touch with them more. I know you will be unable to travel and will have no money to spend on vacations or even eating out, but just try to call them more. They are worth your time and energy, and fill you up when everything sucks.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart past me, for doing the hard work early. Know that it is seen and appreciated. Thank you for trying, all four years, and for the years to come. You turn out pretty cool :3
With all my love,
Future Rachel
PS. I know you are broke, but like, don’t get groceries for a week or 2 and just get that 1 bitcoin you were thinking of. Ask Thomas more about that silkroad/darkweb thing he as talking about and acquire it. That would have been SO helpful.
What We Remember 