Meet Glenn Taylor | Artist and Scientist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Glenn Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Glenn, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve always been a maker — whether it is cooking, writing, making games with my kids, or designing software. But I’ve come late to pursuing visual arts in my life, and only in the last few years have I called myself an artist. Just before the pandemic, I started working in a couple different areas, stumbled into them really. I started experimenting, learning, and putting some of my works out into the world. I enjoy making it, the results and the process, and some others seem to enjoy seeing it, which is always nice. It’s helped me get through hard times, and gave me another way to connect with my kids, both of whom have their own art pursuits. Hopefully it’ll be something to keep me occupied when I retire.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I make two types of art, both driven by experimentation and discovery.
The first is pinhole photography using homemade cameras, and I develop by hand in a darkroom using using household ingredients including coffee. It’s a slow, meditative kind of photography, and the feel of pinhole photographs is unlike anything made with modern digital cameras, moody and thick with stories. It’s also fun to be able take a picture with a camera that I made 5 minutes earlier out of something as ordinary as a cookie tin.
The second is a kind of mixed media that’s easier to understand when you see it. I make outer space scenes (planets, galaxies) using just cooking ingredients from my kitchen such as oils and spices. There are two rules I follow: they are made in kitchen pans, and they start with edible ingredients. Anything edible is fair game, though you probably don’t want to eat the finished product. I compose the ingredients in one or more pans, then photograph the mixture and do some digital cropping, editing and composing. Each one is an experiment, and I don’t know what the end result is going to be. Inspired by my lifelong love for space and NASA, the results look like they could be photographs taken by probes approaching distant planets.

I’m not far along in my artistic life, but I would say the creating is the only part that comes naturally, though not always easy. The sales part is definitely neither easy nor natural for me. I was not born a salesman. I’ve gotten better by doing it over and over, reflecting on what works and what doesn’t, tweaking and trying new things. It sometimes seems like the marketing has to be as creative as the art to get a viewer’s attention.

One lesson comes to mind: stories stick. A viewer might enjoy my work as black and white photos or what they think is astrophotography. When I explain to them what I do and how I do it, the process or the stories behind individual pieces, or even how my art got started, I get more of a connection with the person, and they get more of a connection with the art. I’ve had some art fair visitors bring family or friends back to my booth just so they can hear my stories, others thank me for a lesson in how cameras work. This has been a fun discovery for me along the way, and another enjoyable and unexpected part of being an artist and making the kinds of art that I do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Michigan has an embarrassment of riches. Start in Detroit with Detroit Institute of Arts, a jewel in a rejuvenated city, then hit one of the fantastic music venues, be it The Fillmore or El Club or Baker’s Keyboard Lounge or Cliff Bell’s, or pick from any of the wildly diverse food choices from all the immigrant groups who settled the area over the years. If it’s near Mardi Gras, get a pączki in Hamtramck. If it’s fall, drive out into the countryside for some apple picking and fresh doughnuts at Wasem Fruit Farm. A trip up north should be part of any Michigan itinerary, to see fall colors or to experience the majesty of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. And of course the itinerary includes my town of Ann Arbor that punches above its weight class in cultural events, sports, restaurants, but has a small town feel where you can run into neighbors while strolling anywhere around town. Grab a burger and craft beer at Rappourt, check out the recommendations at Literati book store, catch Nerd Night at Live, then head over to a concert at The Ark where you’re close enough to feel like the performers are playing just for you.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The whole art community in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti is extremely supportive and welcoming and encouraging. Artists send each other notices for calls for art, they show up at each others’ exhibition openings. Ann Arbor’s Guild of Artists and Artisans accepted me into their Emerging Artists program a couple years ago — that gave me a big boost of confidence, gave me access to great mentors, let me experience the biggest art fair in the country, and helped me meet some other artists just starting out that have since become great friends. Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti also has some great programs that build the art community, like their Detroit-inspired Ypsi Fine Arts Club, workshops, and gallery shows. When I started showing in art fairs, other artists, sometimes complete strangers, were so helpful — whether it was in putting up my booth, giving me tips, or just watching my booth while I got lunch. There’s a “we’re in this together” attitude, rain or shine, celebrating each other’s wins and lifting each other up on the not so easy days. It’s really a fantastic community to be part of.

Website: https://glenntaylorart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glenn010101/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/Glenn.Taylor.Art/