Rachael was born in Brisbane, Australia, the daughter of Noel Kantaris, author and lecturer, and his wife, the poet Sylvia Kantaris. The family moved to Britain when Rachael was four, and settled in Cornwall. She studied at Falmouth School of Art before going on to Brighton University, where she gained an MA in Fine Art Printmaking in 1992.

Travelling widely thereafter, she worked in studios in Berlin, Melbourne, and then in Manila where she exhibited printmaking and taught at the University of the Philippines. Now she is a full time artist/printmaker and works from Porthmeor Studios in St Ives. Her work has been shown at the Rainyday Gallery in Penzance.

She lives in St Ives, and in 2001 she ran the Porthmeor Print Workshop. An excellent teacher, she is the tutor for 'Introduction to Printmaking', one of many courses offered by the Newlyn School of Art which opened in 2011 on Chywoone Hill in Newlyn.