The process of writing is very much the same as the process of making an installation, sculpture, or a painting. With a deep interest in history and the role of location, I’ve always been fascinated with the research phase of projects. I collect information for writing in the same way, until my mind is overflowing with incomprehension. Then, like it’s all contained in a blender, I turn on the switch, swirling all madly until elements float to the top; what’s the most important part of this story, what’s the best image to tell a story.
How to Be an Artist A new way to write about what we artists and writers do, especially for those of us who are no longer paid by major media.
I hope I can interest you in subscribing. It can be a dynamic exchange between the reader and the writer where I seek and welcome comments. I’ll be frank, never having been an artist isolated, my work has always been public, and in a small way, like so many others, I want to maintain a voice. This is an adaptation from what I used to do, the career I used to have when institutions bought original art. How to Be an Artist A new way to write about what we artists and writers must do.
Essay: author Jack London and my great-grandfather. A two generation mystery solved.
Simple Objects: An Excavation
Nov. 14, 2019_Essay and images about the Camp Fire, 1 year out, in Zocolo Public Square
An 85 page, full-color exhibition catalog of our installation at Archival Gallery, June 2019. One of the first artistic explorations of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California.Purchase on Amazon.
. Essay in the Los Angeles Review of Books: Oct 2018
Water: More or Less, an anthology of history, policy, art & essay about water in California
“How great to see such a holistic, 360 degree view of such an essential thing.” Rachel Maddow
“This book is an excellent intruduction to California water. Best of all, if offers workable solutions that we mut undertake now.” Bruce Babbitt, former US Interior Secretary
“In this book, you can fish with oystermen about to lose their livelihood or … walk an experimental forest with an ecologist, all while enjoying Taylor’s luminous artwork…this book is a must-read.” California State Library
“A sharp introduction to California’s ongoing hydrodrama…the problems and various strategies to cope with them are clear and compelling. This is a book worth reading.” Gerald W. Haslam, Ph.D., “The Great Central Valley
Trailer about Water: More or Less
Interview on CapRadio, NPR, Oct 2016, first edition
Click to purchase from Amazon.
California State Library names Water: More or Less, Book of the Week, with this review: “Water. In California water is life, and our cycles of drought and flood, of water wheeling and dealing are deadly serious business. In Water More or Less, Rita Sudman and Stephanie Taylor have responded to the all-consuming nature of this relationship, by assembling a diverse collection of expert perspectives on what water is to Californians. In this book, you can fish with oystermen about to lose their livelihood or read an account of how the peripheral canal initiative failed from the perspective of a water policy-maker. If you are a Californian or a westerner, or if you’ve benefited from California’s agricultural or economic abundance, this book is a must-read.”
The Sacramento Bee: A selection from 47 essays and contributions, 2011-2019 & 2024.
The California Tomato, September 2014
Please note that due to the Bee’s paywall, readers might not be able to access the archived essays.
A California Main Street: San Juan Bautista
A California Main Street: Taft, the heart of oil country
A California Main Street: Rio Vista
Sleepy Oroville before the Dam Failure
Fire in Wine Country: a scary trip home
Painting the Delta: a video
Other essays include: The Orchard, Alcatraz, the New Bay Bridge, American River, Vernal Pools, Tuscany, Shasta, the Central Valley, the Southland, Monarchs, Winterbirds, On Books, Oysters, Native Plants, Salmon, Silos, the Salton Sea, Forest Fire, the Galapagos, Rice Harvest, Dungeness Crab, Ballet, San Joaquin Valley, Squaw Valley Writers, Hot Creek.
Central High, Little Rock, 1957
A celebration of 200 years of Frankenstein: A Graphic Interpretation
Interview on CapRadio, NPR, Sacramento with Stephanie and Rivka Sass
A graphic interpretation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 edition: design and art by Taylor, in collaboration with the Sacramento Public Library. This is a unique combination of Shelley’s original text, combined with dynamic art to celebration the 200th year of publication. Now available on Amazon and from the Library