Revival

Zachary Taylor

Interview by L. Valena

March 2, 2022

Can you first describe to me the prompt that you responded to?

It was a painting with a purple background. There was a cluster of mushrooms, and there was a cool yellow symbol between them that they were sort of communing around. It was a cool little painting.

And what was your first reaction to that?

I loved the colors. I love the purple and yellow. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't what I expected. So it was neat to kind of take that in. It was kind of cool to see how that thing evolved over time, especially as I got into this process.

What happened next? Where do you go from there?

So I started thinking about what I felt from that painting, what I thought was happening in that painting. The piece that I made is sort of like a follow-up to that, like the aftermath of that painting. And so I started with that bottom section in the wall hanging, and that's why I think it kind of looks a little different. I think it's a little more structured in the bottom -- the brown and black pieces, sort of like large chunks and stuff. And then I just sort of built up from there.

What I focused on was that center symbol. It was sort of like a circle with a swirl design. It reminded me of a capsule, some sort of like a seed or something. And so my piece depicts it going on past that grouping of mushrooms where it originated, and then sort of taking a life of its own right.

You're talking about this narrative, what happens next for these mushrooms or for the seed that the mushrooms are around. Can you talk about what that looks like?

One thing that I thought, when I looked at the painting, was that the thing seemed almost sort of secretive. It was like a secret meeting of these mushrooms. The story that played out in my mind was them taking this thing secretly, and then passing it on. And sort of as an act of defiance, it is growing and continuing on in spite of its surroundings. Which is the reason why it has that black border. Initially, I wanted to make a small vignette, almost like a portal. Like you're looking into something, and seeing something that maybe you're not necessarily supposed to see. A very small thing that's happening, that hopefully right will grow into this larger thing. That was the story that I had in my mind.

When I saw the initial painting, another thing I noticed was that it felt sort of chaotic. The colors sort of lend themselves to making it feel like it was like a secretive meeting. Which is why I wanted this to be sort of glimpse into the future for this thing.

This reminds me of that feeling I have every time I go to the woods, and see tiny little tree stumps that have entire ecosystems inside them. Just this reminder of how much I don't know about what's going on out there. But I also think you've touched on a really interesting theme -- this idea of something growing despite its surroundings. Is that something you've explored in other work that you've made?

Yeah, and I guess that brings up a good point that I shouldn't ignore. When I looked at it, it seemed almost queer in nature, which I guess relates my experience and identity. It is a very real thing for me -- this idea of forging your own path, finding your own identity, way of doing things, community or family. The idea of being successful, or growing and thriving, despite the odds. Despite what was working against it.

That's such a big deal, isn't it? I think that living authentically and flourishing as a queer person can be almost a radical act.

Yea. And a very beautiful thing, too, which is something that I was hoping to portray. It's so vibrant and colorful.

How does this relate to the rest of your work?

I was so excited about making this thing because it is a slight deviation from things that I've made in the past. I just finished a quilt last month. I sew and quilt a lot with my mom who lives elsewhere -- it's something we can do together from afar. That quilt was very structured... a lot of straight lines, a lot of measuring and cutting. In a lot of this piece, I was able to get away from that. Be more free-flowing. I did a lot of things that, even while I was doing it, kind of drove me crazy. I could hear the voices of like my grandmother and other ancestors saying, "What the fuck are you doing with this thing? This is crazy."

If nothing else, this was a great experience in sort of scrapping a lot of the rules that I know, and a lot of the preset standards of doing things. I was able to get to the same point, and to was more enjoyable and more authentic than the cutting and measuring sort of thing. And that's not to make light of that -- it's a big thing.

Oh yeah, it is a big thing, but so is going against the grain.

Definitely. Yes.

Is this your first time doing something like that?

Sort of. I think that my journey through fiber arts has changed, and has been a lot of practice and trying something new like this. Whether it be clothing fabrication, or there's another sew along that I'm taking part in right now that's a think piece that's free flowing. This is definitely the biggest thing that I've done in that regard, outside of my comfort zone and trying new things. I had many arguments with my sewing machine throughout this process. We did not always see eye-to-eye in this thing.

I know that feeling. Sometimes they have a lot to say.

There was definitely a lot of, like, leaving the room. We'll come back later to figure this out.

Do you have any advice for another artist approaching this project for the first time?

I think really the only thing that I could lend is what I had to think through, which is that I'm capable of doing this thing. It's possible. I really like the advice that you all gave -- to have fun with it. It's not supposed to be like this grandiose thing, but something that you enjoy and that speaks to you.

Is there anything else we haven't talked about?

One thing about the process that I wanted to mention is that all of the materials that I used in this piece were all things that were given to me, or that I found, or that were in some way passed along to me. That is something that has sort of remained true throughout all of my work, and is very important to me. There are a lot of small pieces of fabric in this piece that are very meaningful for me, for one reason or another, and hopefully to the people who passed them along to me. So that was a really enjoyable part of the process, being able to incorporate even those small memories. One of my favorite parts about this piece is that, because I backed the quilt with an old sports coat that I had, I left a little secret pocket in the back. So if and when I pass it along, I'll tuck a little note in there for somebody. A nice little surprise.

Call Number: M46VA | M47VA.tayRe

Zachary Taylor: I am a fiber artist living in South-Central Indiana focusing primarily in quilting. I drawing inspiration from the quilters and makers before me and am ever exploring new methods.