Situated in her purple studio just outside of the Twin Cities, an artist named Emiko Rainbow shared some valuable information with new creators as well as a message to the Minnesota community about why representation matters. 

After speaking with Rainbow over Zoom and email for weeks, it became clear that this artist is here to teach valuable lessons through a bright color palette and a bubbly personality, and she knows how to do it.

Growing up in South Minneapolis in a house full of, what she calls, “powerhouse women,” Rainbow seems to have learned the art of hard work.

After graduating from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Rainbow went on to work 40 hour weeks at design companies. Through hard work and more than a little imagination, Rainbow now has her own brand, and her art can be seen everywhere from Barnes and Noble to Tractor Supply Company. 

“[My mom] was really an advocate for me, and being a single mom, she had to work her butt off,” Rainbow said. “She needed to make a certain amount of income for us, and she put my education first.”  

“I was always doodling, and my mom put me in art classes outside of school,” Rainbow said with a smile. “She really really encouraged me to be creative, and it was okay because everything is designed, from your coffee mug to medical equipment.”

This is a sentiment echoed by Duluth’s own Christina Woods, Executive Director of the Duluth Art Institute, who explained in a tone of wonderment that art is embedded in everything from math to creative writing. 

“In Duluth, the importance of art through the Duluth Art Institute is to provide opportunity for [the] community to see something outside of their usual experience, with neutral art for instance. It could be sailboats or the lift bridge, rocks and the lake,” Woods said.

Woods explained that people find these images comfortable but added, “I’m more interested in providing art viewing and art education opportunities that push the boundaries of thinking around race, social economics...bringing in deeper understanding about narratives that are absent in our community.”

Tying neutral art and deeper meanings together is Rainbow’s specialty. Her bright, colorful art portfolio features things like butterflies and hearts that go along with words like, “you were not BORN just to CONFORM.” 

“I do colorful, playful, confident art that’s very conscious driven,” Rainbow said. 

Rainbow was scared to make it on her own as an artist, remembering starting an art Instagram account and realizing that she had no work to call her own.  “I was always doing work for them [commercial clients] and never for me, so when I went on my own I didn’t really know who Emiko was,” she explained. 

It was George Floyd’s tragic murder, the appearance of Black Lives Matter in everyday Minnesota media and issues of diversity at the forefront of society that prompted Rainbow to reflect on her own past experiences.

Whether she was called beautiful and exotic, or people were taken aback by her “overly unique” name, “Being a biracial kid in the Midwest, that was a huge part of my life. Wherever I turned, basically, I was reminded that I was different,” Rainbow said. 

The new, emerging conversation about diversity has given Rainbow a language for some of the thoughts she has carried around for years. “It just gave me so much validation of how people have treated me or spoke to me, spoke to my mother, like they wouldn’t even think that we were daughter and mother when we walked around.”

The Scandinavian, Irish and English art, acquired from her mother’s side of the family, mixed with her Japanese background, has led her to the current style she loves today. 

“All this art just started coming out and it was just taking these big picture ideas, these big feelings, and just wanting to tell kids and moms of diverse kids that it’s gonna be okay,” Rainbow said.

Helping kids find confidence, authenticity and power within themselves is an important part of Rainbow’s artistic message.

“I have fun every day doing what I’m doing, it’s hard work but I’m doing the thing that I wanted to do since I was little and if I can help any kid be confident and like, if I can represent that...that’s my goal.”

Rainbow is willing to coach new artists by offering advice, knowledge and her own Style Guide Worksheet for creating an art business. In order to speak with Rainbow about reviewing your art portfolio, creating an Art Brand and potentially having a mentor reach out to hello@emikorainbow.com.