He is the editor of Kansas English, the journal of the Kansas Association of Teachers of English, the state affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English. He is currently studying the Mennonites' tradition of interpreting scripture congregationally and discerning collectively how to be the church, how to be an obedient community of disciples. My first art experiences involved digging clay in my dad's pasture and trying to make things out of it. I'm still trying to express ideas in clay, and much of the inspiration for my art comes from the land around me. These forms invoke both personal memories of particular places or people and a general sense of past geologic eras.
Some pieces utilize tornado forms to represent powerful agents of change or strong personalities.
Taylor also continues an interest developed in adolescence of creating beautiful, utilitarian ceramic vessels. The pragmatic nature of early Kansans was an important part of my family tradition. I'm sure my grandfather's philosopy of 'No work - No eat' influenced my interest in making useful art. Finding validity in Kansas sources for personal expression was an important revelation in Taylor's artistic development. Both universality and uniqueness are important to artistic expression, and Kansas can provide both.