Other Creative Souls: Taylor McClure

As a creative person, it fascinates me to learn how other like-minded souls tick. Thanks for joining me today to pick the brain of Artist Taylor McClure.  Taylor and I are working together on the collaborative art effort known as "The Seven Project" , which debuts this weekend.

My name is Taylor Douglas McClure, I am 25 years old, and I was born in Ft. Worth, TX.  I received a BFA with a concentration in printmaking at the University of North Texas in 2010. I have also studied printmaking at Frogman’s workshops inSouth Dakota.

I’ve always been drawing. I grew up in the age of NES and ADD. Since early childhood, I’ve been enamoured with the Japanese aesthetic. I grew up studying Japanese comics that I couldn’t read. I had the privilege of visiting Japan in 2006. It was everything I had imagined it would be and more.

My normal day typically begins around 9am. I wash, eat breakfast, and then look through my notes to see what needs to be done. I then spend my day working on these tasks. I live with my girlfriend and our cat Gus. In the evenings, we cook a meal and spend quality time together. In the late evening/early morning, I’m typically at my drafting table, drawing.

My ideal day would be like climbing a mountain or riding a train.

I am most passionate about integrity. Even though I may not be honest 100% of the time, I am painstakingly sure that my work is. Outside of my personal work, my passions are traveling with those dearest to me, gourmet meals, laughing out loud, every single cat, body language, organization, and people watching.

When I’m working, I typically rotate a handful of works at the same time out of necessity. I also do this because I have a more fluid and consistent work flow when juggling pieces rather than investing all of my effort into a single item. Not to say that I’m unfocused or distracted, I just prefer a steady variety of works for maximum efficiency. Although I don’t draw every day, I’m consistantly taking notes on my surroundings. I am most inspired by subtle facial expressions and body language. Much of it is unnoticed, and I find inspiration in attempting to capture those fleeting moments of the human form. I am also inspired by pattern. My favorite patterns are that of origami papers. A close second to pattern is texture. The tactile quality of objects and the way in which they are topographic stimulates me. It is reminiscent of hiking mountains as a child.

My goals are to immigrate to the east coast, develop my career as an artist, travel the world employing my work, teaching as an old man, and end up finding a secret cove to be reclusive in.

Those which I look up to the most include, but are not limited to:

Francisco De Goya, William Blake, Henri Daumier, Katsushika Hokusai, Egon Schiele, Toulouse Lautrec, Hayao Miyazaki, Jimmy Mirikitani, Pablo Picasso, Akira Toriyama, Jan-Michel Basquiat, Raymond Pettibon, Suehiro Maruo, Tom Huck, Os Gemeos, Neckface, Rob Sato and David Choe.

In one sentence, my work can be described like this:

“BOOM FOR REAL.” -Basquiat

My weblog can be viewed at:

www.taylormcclure.tumblr.com

I post various drawings and progress shots of current projects. The blog contains links to my portfolio, the Pan-Ector Industries blog, the Meme Gallery blog, and more.

The Seven Project

About a month ago I was approached to be part of The Seven Project, a collaborative art project that is the brainchild of Peruvian-born, Denton-based Visual Artist and Creative Director, Christian Millet.  This project is a revolutionary concept, and a new way for Artists to work together.  As solitary Artists we are often left to our own devices to toil away in the studio, struggling to explore and develop concepts on our own, all the while keeping our process under wraps. This project turns that upside down and introduces a completely new way to work together.


Here's the bare bones of it:

About	The Seven Project is a collaboration between 7 artists from different styles and backgrounds. The idea is to create 7 fine art pieces between 7 artists in 7 days each.

Each of the 7 pieces will be a timed, rotational collaboratiosn between all artists. Considering that the 7 artists live in various cities throughout North Texas, this is a challenge in and of itself. To make this even more challenging to the artists (and to the project itself), each artist has been assigned a different rotational process point for each piece created. Once the compilation of all 7 pieces has been completed, we will mount an exhibition (to be announced) to benefit a local charity. Artists Liz London, Carolyn Collins, Gina Marie Dunn, Nix Johnson, Taylor McClure, Christian Millet, Richard Ross, with Exhibit Direction provided by Frankie Garcia of FGIIIART The most meaningful part of this project is that the fruits of our labor, these seven collaborative projects, are going to be auctioned off with proceeds benefitting  Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School. This DISD school is the first public all-girls' public school in Texas whose mission is to provide young ladies in grades 6-12 with a global education preparing them to be empowered leaders of tomorrow. It has been an amazing journey thus far to work with such an esteemed group of Artists who are dedicated to producing quality work.  That's not to say this project has been easy: pieces have been tricky to transport, transportation itself all over North Texas has been a beast, artists have dropped off the radar as life gets in the way, and perhaps the biggest challenge of all has been maintaining a level of sophistication and depth in each piece. The chemistry between our group is amazing, especially considering that many of us had never met before.  We are visionaries, caretakers, organizers, cheerleaders, creative directors, media mavens, workhorses...and together our collective voice offers a platform far greater than any of us could reach alone. It has been exhilarating to work with such an esteemed group of Artists producing quality work and I am honored and proud to be a part of this team.  We are unveiling the Project in Highland Park on November 5. Find us on Facebook. Follow our progress and support an original project undertaken for a good cause, the empowerment of young women. Stay tuned for details. It's going to be big...