As a child, Rae Willis was obsessed with the arts. There never was a sketch book or reference book far from her hands growing up, so dedicating her schooling to the arts was an easy life goal of hers. Starting in photography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA she quickly realized though she loved the dark room, she needed something a little more three dimensional. After taking a few welding and large metal sculpture courses, she took a casting class for making hand made jewelry. That semester quickly became the turning point in dedicating herself into a full time career of jewelry making. Starting a business had been a dream of hers for many years, and here was a career she enjoyed and was creatively successful at.

Graduating from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts was only the beginning of Rae Willis' jeweler career. Working for several jewelry repair shops, both large and small taught her the tools of the trade. Once she acquired the necessary skills in repairing jewelry, Rae ventured into jewelry design, wanting to explore more of the artistic side of jewelry. Many skills were learned at a small silversmith in Texas for traditional engraving as well as bulk production of jewelry.

These skills and background in the formal arts have gotten Rae into where she is today. Started originally as Of Walking Art, Rae rebranded as Walking Art Jewelry as a dedicated small business. Rae and her partner, Josh Willis, run the jewelry studio out of Fort Worth Tx. Occasionally they bring the jewelry shop on the road at local events. She spends her days dreaming of new jewelry designs, looking for particularly high refraction index stones, and crafting custom bespoke jewelry.