Keren Taylor

Keren Taylor
Blaine, Washington, USA

STATEMENT

I love the juxtaposition of natural and man-made elements, piecing together broken tiles with walnut shells, or embedding driftwood branches with metal guitar strings into epoxy. My studio is lined with drawers of all sizes where I have organized my collections of rice paper, candy wrappers, rusted tools,
ball bearings, pressure gauges, mahjong tiles, beach agates and much more. I find things in melted snow, in the desert and in parking lots and if they can fit in my suitcase, I take them home. Collage and assemblage allows me to work with a great range of textures and dimensions, and I enjoy the challenge of working through structural issues and adhesive choices. I’m continually reminded of the metaphors of how our lives are mosaics of various moments, relationships and decisions–we break, we pull ourselves back together, we merge with others, we might fail despite excruciating planning, and sometimes, we can revel in a success now and then. I often return to working just with paper, sometimes including cutout
phrases from old books, building layered collages to express what I’m experiencing, whether it’s my solidarity and empathy for my Ukraine and my relatives there, the ache of losing a friend, or the exhilaration of an encounter with a seal while kayaking in the Pacific Ocean. I also write poetry and creative nonfiction, to process my emotions and experiences and also to capture them on the page, even if sometimes that can be as elusive as trying to catch a tiny feather floating by.

BIO

Keren Taylor is an artist, songwriter and the founder/director of WriteGirl, an international creative writing and mentoring organization for teen girls and gender-expansive youth. In 2013, WriteGirl received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the highest national honor awarded to exemplary after-school programs. Keren is the editor of 38 award-winning anthologies of youth writing, and in 2020, she received the Los Angeles Times Innovator’s Award, “spotlighting efforts to bring books, publishing and storytelling into the future.” Working in collage, mosaic, assemblage, acrylic and watercolor, Keren has studied mixed media composition for over two decades with private teachers, and also at The Arts Students League in New York City and The Art Center in Pasadena. Keren’s artwork has been exhibited in several galleries in Los Angeles, Pasadena and Blaine, Washington. Her work is the featured cover art for several books. She lives in Blaine, Washington, right on the border of Canada, where she makes art and jewelry, writes poetry, oversees WriteGirl programs, and bakes exotic desserts. Keren holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the University of British Columbia, a Piano Performance Degree from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, and a Diploma from the American Music and Dramatic Academy, New York City.

ARTIST CONTACT

EMAIL | WEBSITE

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