Meet Taylor Thomas

We were lucky to catch up with Taylor Thomas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I come from two generations of entrepreneurs (my parents and my maternal grandfather) who taught me from an early age that you get what you give – you have to consistently work hard at a goal to achieve it. My parents started their businesses, a property management company for low-income families and a construction company, when I was five. I got to witness first hand the ways in which they built themselves from the ground up, and I got a glimpse into the problem solving and endurance that went into creating businesses that not only provided for our family, but also created a positive impact in our Chicago community. Their unyielding work ethic has always inspired me, and I channel them each day as I carve my path in the art industry.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m currently a second year MFA student at CalArts. My practice investigates public and private representations of the Black family as explored through my personal photo archive. By freeing my family members from the confines of their picture frames and collaging the original images with found materials like commercial street posters, I create compositions that call attention to the similarities and differences in the ways Blackness is depicted in culture.

While each piece is grounded in its own socio-cultural context, I employ mirrors and other reflective materials to reach out and capture the image of viewers – crossing boundaries of time and perspective to bring viewers into a closeness with my subjects. It’s in this act of seeing oneself in an “other” that I hope to inspire connection and celebrate the memory of those in my family that came before me.

In addition to exploring my family archive, I also create bespoke pieces for people who would like to celebrate their loved ones in an original collage inspired by their family photos.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Know your core creative interests – I love exploring notions of family in every creative pursuit that I’ve tackled whether it was in film development or art. Knowing the core interest at the heart of my creativity helps me stay true to myself no matter the medium.

2. Keep yourself organized – There are so many amorphous elements to being an artist that can cause you to lose yourself and your dream. I went to graduate school as one way to guide my transition into the art world so I didn’t get off track. Whether it’s daily or long term planning, it’s important to find ways to create a schedule that keeps you accountable.

3. Take the leap – I could’ve easily never pivoted careers to pursue my art professionally. However, I’m so thankful that I took the leap. I’ve never felt more fulfilled and on the right track than I do today. Sometimes you just have to trust yourself that change is all for the better.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Make a list! I love list-making, and I find it to be incredibly helpful when I feel like my head is buzzing with too many thoughts and deadlines. Seeing everything written on the page helps me organize my tasks into digestible bits. If I’m really feeling kooky, I’ll even bring out my color coordinated pens.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://createdbytaylor.squarespace.com/
• Instagram: @created.by.taylor