Barbara Taylor
Glass Artist • Jewelry
Barbara Taylor has been an Avon lady, a horseback riding instructor, a cocktail waitress, a hospital chaplain, a parish minister, and a college professor. She was better at some of those jobs than others, but the ones she did best involved words – lots and lots of them – in books and journals, lectures and sermons, syllabi and essays.
This made her a very wordy person.
Then one day she went to a wholesale gem show with her sister Katy and discovered a whole new world of tactile beauty. There were stones with desert landscapes in them, stones with iridescent fire in them, stones in every imaginable shape, size, and color – all of them begging to be handled. She hardly spoke all day. At closing time, she carried a backpack full of gems, glass beads, and findings that weighed ten pounds.
It was the beginning of learning to make things that did not involve words.
Working with gems led to working with glass, both hot and cold. When a friend began making suspended glass art, Barbara followed suit, transfixed by how many kinds of stained glass there were and what happened when the wind got hold of them. Who knew colors made sounds? Who knew a piece of glass could dance?
The wild goose is the Celtic Christian symbol for the Holy Spirit that blows where it will – sometimes gently, and sometimes with upsetting force. Wild Goose Arts is named for this untamed creative spirit with gratitude for all whom it enlivens, both through words and beyond words.
Barbara’s work is on display here at Hemlock Studio Gallery and at the Art Gallery at the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center. Her books may be ordered from your favorite independent bookseller (Avid Bookshop in Athens will be happy to hear from you at 706-850-2843).
This made her a very wordy person.
Then one day she went to a wholesale gem show with her sister Katy and discovered a whole new world of tactile beauty. There were stones with desert landscapes in them, stones with iridescent fire in them, stones in every imaginable shape, size, and color – all of them begging to be handled. She hardly spoke all day. At closing time, she carried a backpack full of gems, glass beads, and findings that weighed ten pounds.
It was the beginning of learning to make things that did not involve words.
Working with gems led to working with glass, both hot and cold. When a friend began making suspended glass art, Barbara followed suit, transfixed by how many kinds of stained glass there were and what happened when the wind got hold of them. Who knew colors made sounds? Who knew a piece of glass could dance?
The wild goose is the Celtic Christian symbol for the Holy Spirit that blows where it will – sometimes gently, and sometimes with upsetting force. Wild Goose Arts is named for this untamed creative spirit with gratitude for all whom it enlivens, both through words and beyond words.
Barbara’s work is on display here at Hemlock Studio Gallery and at the Art Gallery at the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center. Her books may be ordered from your favorite independent bookseller (Avid Bookshop in Athens will be happy to hear from you at 706-850-2843).