Something you need to know about November 2015 Playmate Rachel Harris: she is not a model. Rather, an artist who speaks rather eloquently about her practice, having studied at two of the country’s top art schools. 

At her first show, Rachel sold all but two of her pieces, which are constructed for interior spaces from industrial materials such as concrete, wood, grout and resin. She was only 23 at the time. “Art has always been a way for me to be in my element and to challenge myself emotionally and physically,” she says. “In my work you can see sensuality next to silence, young versus deep-rooted, sharp alongside soft.”
To hone her craft free of distractions, Rachel converted a downtown Los Angeles warehouse loft in the city’s burgeoning arts district into a studio, building out its rooms herself. 

“I get so involved in my work, sweating and crawling on the floor, that such a space is necessary. I like getting dirty.” The idiosyncrasy of an angelic beauty looming over crude materials isn’t lost on her. “I’m not taken seriously most of the time,” she says. “When I go to Home Depot to pick up tools, they think I’m shopping for a boyfriend. But I appreciate it, because it’s empowering when I change minds.” 

As to why Rachel chose to cross mediums, from behind the canvas to in front of the lens, she says, “I’ve been told selling yourself with your art degrades it, but I strongly disagree. The art world is constantly inspired by the female form. Playboy is giving me the opportunity to be represented as a public artist.”