Featured Artist - Taylor McDarison
“My work has always yearned to twist the viewpoint of reality through a window into the fantastical. Having grown up on a small farm, my upbringing gave to me a passion for nature and the organic aesthetic with which it is infused. Long, delicate lines speak to a temperament of whimsy. That is the fuel from which I create. Alongside this idea of fantasy or oddity, my inspirations are found in lore around the world. I use this folklore to express ideologies to my audience that would otherwise be harder to digest. With this in mind, my work oftentimes reads rather surreal and dark. I enjoy this contrast between beauty and the macabre.”
“As humanity reaps resources, consumes and disposes, the relationship between people and nature has been vigorously debated. These artworks are a plea. I want to promote ecofriendly sensibilities, as I find we are one in the same with Earth. While humankind’s toes reside amidst its soil, the danger of our abuse to terra is very real. We are so deeply connected that our actions borderline on masochism. One cannot discern where the woman begins and the tree ends. Their expressions are melancholy, disappointed, or even pained as the earth suffers and they wither into a slow death. The female gender is used to personify ‘Mother Earth,’” thus all narrative figures are uniformly female to deeper express the connection between the two entities.”
