For Lori Taylor, art is not just something to do in her spare time. Art is her life.
‘I’ve been doing artwork since I was very young,? said Taylor. ‘Even as a baby, I stayed in a wooden playpen, they’d give me crayons and now my wooden playpen is a forest.?
Taylor, a 1977 Clarkston High School graduate, said she took a lot of art and science classes. Growing up on five-and-a-half acres of ponds and woods, she recalls catching frogs to take home and dissect.
‘Now I am still doing the same thing,? she said. ‘It’s a cool job.?
Taylor said she has always been drawn towards ‘nature art.?
‘I think growing up in the woods, I was very inspired by children’s books and illustrations. The mystery and the wonder in all the illustration, so I wanted to do that, I think it’s just been something in me that I wanted to be a Michigan artist.?
All of her artwork is geared towards Michigan wildlife, scenes, and places.
‘I’m just a ‘wild child,?? she said with a laugh.
Taylor’s favorite part of art is gathering all the pieces together to tell the story.
‘It’s the whole process,? she said. ‘There is that raw excitement that you get when you start putting it all together.?
A lot of her art is ‘mixed media pieces.? She uses watercolors, acrylic, and drawing. Then, puts it all together in layers to help tell the story.
Not only does she create art, she does taxidermy as well. She said she picks up road kill, skins the animal and tans the hide. Also, she does art and nature programs for kids.
‘A lot of these things, they’ve never seen up close or know that they live in their neighborhood,? said Taylor. ‘One of my goals is getting kids outdoors. I think if I am going to be doing that, then I need to be out and hike more.?
Her artwork has been on display at the Wint Nature Center, Independence Oaks Park, for the past 22 years.
‘I raised my kids out here,? she said. ‘This entire park was like their big backyard.?
Both of her kids are artistic too, she noted. Her son James Taylor is in a band called ‘Givensix? in the Flint area and her daughter Jen is an art student in Detroit. Taylor also has a 3-year-old granddaughter.
‘It’s neat to see your kids just take off and use their talents and gifts, it’s pretty awesome,? she said. ‘Now they’re grown I can run all over Michigan and do basically what I did as a kid.?
Taylor recently came back from a two-week stay at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, where she was an ‘Artist in Residence.?
‘It was just amazing, the land, the water, Lake Superior, the falls, and then the trees,? she said. ‘The trees are what make the area. I could have used another week.?
Artist in residence are not just painters and sketchers, but also musicians, screenplay writers, writers, as well as 2D and 3D artist, noted Taylor.
‘When you apply, you’ve got to know that you’re going to have solitude and had some type of camping experience,? she said.
Taylor stay was at ‘Dan’s Cabin,? named after Dan Orbanski, a photographer who died a few years ago. She said the cabin had no running water or electricity.
‘To be up there at night, there’s no sound and there’s no light. You can’t see your hand in front of your face,? she said. ‘It wasn’t frightening, it’s like you’re floating in nothingness. It was a very unusual feeling.?
As a part of her residency, Taylor was given freedom to roam the land, explore and enjoy it.
‘Each corner, you’d just want to see more,? she said. ‘It was just fabulous to see this 63,000 acres of forest.?
At the end of the two-week stay, she had to put together a presentation about her interpretation of the park.
In order to help with her interpretation, she had a ‘feel the earth day,? where she walked everywhere in her moccasins.
‘I really wanted to get the feel of the land, everything from the forest to the shore, to the rock at the falls, which is the oldest rock in the world because it’s all volcanic,? Taylor said. ‘I just wanted to get that entire experience and put it down in words, sketches, and water colors.?
When it comes to drawing animals, Taylor said she relies upon sketches and photographs as well as tracking the animal.
‘It’s not the importance of seeing the animal because a successful animal is going to stay hidden, which is good,? she said. ‘It’s the other animals that show themselves, you don’t want to see.?
She did see a lot of signs and evidence such as bear and wolf tracks, but her main goal was just to interpret the experience.
She did hope to hear ‘wolf song,? however she only heard owls, coyotes, and woodpeckers ‘that sounded like lumberjacks.?
Taylor noted she does add a lot of faces to her artwork to help add ‘the human element.?
‘We are nature and not separate from it,? she said. ‘Our presence does have an impact.?
She currently lives in Pinckney on five acres. From the window of her studio, she can watch deer, foxes, coyotes, and ‘lots of little critters? go by.
Her next art project, which she started this week, is a 16-foot-high, 20-foot-long mural wrapping around the Lake Orion Nature Center’s Moose Tree.
Taylor, who has published one book already, is planning on starting a series of children’s books about the ‘Adventure of Michigan.? She is trying to reach kids of all ages.
‘They need to have that play time, that dream time to get out and let their imaginations play, that’s how they learn,? she said.
It’s scary to watch subdivisions come in and clear woods so it looks like a golf course, noted Taylor, which is why she is a big advocate for park land.
‘Michigan has so much to offer and I would love to see it get back on its feet and people out there in the parks and in the water,? she said. ‘We’ve got a lot here.?
For more information, check www.loritaylorart.com