Swissvale Artist Decorates Found Objects

Rachell Youngman is creating elaborate works of art from simple materials and sparkly beads, including a recent series of piggy banks now on display at Gallerie Chiz in Shadyside.

Youngman of Swissvale grew up on a farm and moved to Pittsburgh when she was 18. She has worked at the Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh for more than 30 years, while she has a home studio to explore her art.

She is a mixed media artist who works with paints, beads, found objects, clay and more.

“I’ve done all kinds of stuff,” she said. “Anything I ever needed around the house I just took an art class and figured out how to do it.”

Youngman started with quilting, then moved on to stained glass and upholstery. At the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts she studied other mediums as well, including oil painting, weaving and clay.

“I like to mix them all up which is why I call myself a mixed media artist,” Youngman said. “I am always looking for something new to try. That’s what I like.”

Youngman once created a chair for Gallerie Chiz that was one of many auctioned off. In that one piece, she included upholstery, gilding and beading.

“For me, it’s about finding objects to decorate,” she said. “I prefer to use something old.”

With her most recent project of piggy banks, Youngman found many of the banks at different flea markets, stores and yard sales. She goes through all of her beads and jewelry to find an inspiration piece to center the art around and move forward with a project.

“It’s just sort of on a whimsy,” she said.

Youngman said she was attracted to the idea of transforming the simple piggy banks into beautiful objects.

“We didn’t have a lot of money growing up and our parents always went to Goodwill for our toys, and one year our parents bought us piggy banks,” she said. “Ever since then I have just been kind of enthralled by them and also as a kid, I had a habit of collecting broken odds and ends.”

Youngman said incorporating memories into her art is a goal with the different pieces she finds along the way.

“Nothing is really trash,” she said. “It can all be reused and made beautiful again.”