'Permission to Grieve,' 2020, mixed media by Carla Taylor
Carla Taylor, Johnson City, Tennessee, multi-media artist, shares stories of her personal journey through her artwork.
“My current body of work focuses on the techniques of mono printing and collage. The organic marks I make are visual reminders of life’s twists and turns. One moment you may be celebrating a victory and the other grieving a loss. But amidst these uncontrollable events and feelings there are choices we can make and boundaries we can implement, the ability to shape our own narratives. My current body of work focuses on this balance between chaos and control, the fluidity of life, self-expression and our boundaries of self-preservation. Although my work is mostly abstract, I use line, shape and color to tell a story. These stories are part of my own personal journey to healing.
“I am often inspired in my daily life by things I see or hear, whether it’s a poem or the lines on a tree. My feelings also play a role in how my works progress, the quality of the lines and the colors I choose. I may make a loose plan for a piece, but it’s the moment to moment that pushes it where it wants to go. One of my favorites quotes is ‘Your path is at your feet whether you realize it or not,’ by Agnes Martin. This reminds me to keep working and the inspiration will come.
“I think the central idea behind most of my work is that life is a ‘journey through’ whether it’s through darkness or grief, or healing and discovery, we are in constant movement. I produce lines as a vehicle for expression. By combining these lines with shape and color I can create a narrative,” she says.
Her current focus in her artwork is on mixed media collage. She incorporates an additive and subtractive method, layering papers and paint or fabric and dye. At times she removes layers to reveal what’s underneath. She often combines this with shape and saturated colors to bring control to the chaos.
Her piece in “From These Hills” is called “Permission to Grieve,” and explores the loss that we all encounter on our journey through life.
“It reflects my journey of healing through a period of deep loss. I often paint or draw as a way of expressing my emotions, and at the time I was feeling like I was supposed to move on and that I shouldn’t still hurt. This piece was me giving myself permission to feel it all and do it with self-compassion and love.
“It is a layered piece, made of two different kinds of silk, which I think reflects the complexity and fragility of the human spirit. It is different from my current work as it is made using textiles and dye, but the style is similar. As a multimedia artist, I often change mediums, and I’m sure I will eventually return to textiles to express myself. It is interesting as you look back at your work through the years and there are similar marks and a thread of continuity that is there, even in the different mediums,” Taylor says.
Taylor received a Bachelor of Science in psychology as a young adult. When she grew older, she discovered a new passion – creating art. She went to East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee, to study the basics but is predominately self-taught.
She is a full-time artist whose studio is in Atelier 133, a new artist community in downtown Johnson City, Tennessee, which opens in January.
Her work has been included in various exhibitions including “Women’s Works 2021” in Woodstock, Illinois, and “No Bigger Than a Breadbox” at the Emporium Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. She had two of her pieces on display in the Fl3tch3r Exhibit, at the Reece Museum in Johnson City, Tennessee, where she received an award of merit. Her work was also recently featured in the summer and fall editions of The Hand Magazine, where one of her collages was on the back cover.
“I believe that all humans are creative in some way. It may not be in visual art, but in their words or how they interact with the world around them. I think most importantly creativity is a way we can connect with ourselves and with others,” she says.
To see more of Taylor’s work, visit her website www.carlataylorart.com.
