BY KAREN BOSSICK
Sculptor Katherine “KT” Taylor will talk about her experience as the 2021 Sawtooth National Recreation Area Artist-in-Residence tonight at the Sun Valley Museum of Art, 5th and Washington streets in Ketchum.
The talk, which begins at 6 p.m. tonight—Wednesday, Aug. 10--is free and registration is not required.
Taylor will discuss the process she uses to make large-scale sculptures in bronze, aluminum and stainless steel. They begin with hikes up mountain, across streams and through the woods to cast molds of natural textures in the landscape. Later, she uses those molds to create the texture of sculptures representing a diversity of zoomorphic creatures.
Taylor has worked in a wide range of ecosystems around the globe, including the Arctic. She uses her work to inform viewers about the interconnectedness of the natural world and the importance of conversations.
She hopes her sculptures will help people foster an appreciation and respect for nature’s beauty and the wonder it provokes.
“Conservation is core to my work, especially when it comes to creatures,” she says. “I use texture swapping to illustrate the mimicry and unity in nature by collecting molds of elements in the natural landscape to create the outer textures of my animal sculptures. For example, I made a mold of tree bark which became the feathers on my falcon sculpture. Molds of rocks formed the bumps along the skin of my frog sculpture.
She has created commissioned sculptures for public and private collections throughout the United States. Her works have included live-sized wolves, bigger-than-life frogs and seagulls.
“The sculptures that I create tell a story about the animals and their environment,” she says. “Sometimes this means showing how human activity has influenced an area. Each animal sculpture and its textures are unique to the location where it is installed. My hope is to inspire conservation through art.”