“ A work of art is the soul inhaling the colors of passion and getting drunk on the vibrations of diffused light” — Carole Rae Watanabe

Establishing the first nationally recognized Gallery for the Fiber Arts in San Francisco;   Founding the Apprentice Alliance (a non-profit organization dedicated to placing apprentices with masters in all fields of endeavor); Most importantly a life-long commitment to creating supportive communities that nourish the wild art spirit in all of us.  Her tapestries, sculptural handmade paper works and paintings hang in private collections, hotels, banks,  hospitals and corporate offices across the country.

Since completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at CCAC in Oakland, she has studied indigenous weaving with Guatemalan natives on the shores of Attitlan, traditional Japanese papermaking in a paper village in Aichi-ken, Japan and in the last 14 years, painting with masters in the magical countryside of southern France.
She also became a Buddhist and built a tea house on Telegraph Hill. Currently, she is living and teaching the concept of "life as an art form" during the winters at her art school in Sebastopol, California known as Art Heaven, and summers in the French fauvist village of Collioure where she paints and sells her work in her own gallery L'Art Vivant.

Carole resides in Sebastopol, California on Ragle Road at Chez la Vie, a retirement compound created with her husband, Jazz Musician, Don Watanabe.