Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Rushing.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in Washington State near Tacoma. I learned glassblowing as a teenager and worked as a production glassblower into my early twenties. I moved to the UK and apprenticed under a carpenter on the south coast where I learned to work with lumber and build structures. I was always drawing and designing in my spare time. My partner and I moved to Austin, Texas after that where I worked in a custom furniture shop doing custom millwork and played in an old-time string band called the Stovetop Rangers. I attended the MFA program at the University of Wisconsin in the woodshop where I was lucky enough to work with incredible, interdisciplinary faculty including a cartoonist, Lynda Barry. I currently live in Kirkwood where I have my little workshop and studio in the basement of an old home that I am renovating with my partner.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. Being an artist involves having numerous hard conversations and you are constantly self-analyzing what it all means. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart or for the lazy. I have been burned on jobs, underpaid, had epic failures of all sorts but that is part of the adventure of being a maker.
I don’t promote complaints coming from artists, because those of us that are doing it are some of the luckiest and most privileged people alive. I feel so grateful to get to earn money from what I love doing and it is a thrill to take on new and different projects that I can choose.
Please tell us about Not Bad Illustration – what should we know?
My brand is multi-faceted for the purpose of keeping all my creative practices constantly stimulated. I have an illustration entity of my business where I work with clients (bands, magazines, businesses, festivals) to design visual branding for them.
I have a more “fine art” presence as well where I make 2D work that is shown and sold in art galleries and at zine and comic fests around the country. I am also an avid woodworker and carver and I have become known for my “tramp art” boxes which stem from an old technique of chip carving recycled materials and building it up on itself to make sculptural forms. I recently made a large tramp art zine library which is now housed at the Kohler Art Library in Madison, Wisconsin. Through this media, I teach workshops, do artist residencies and show the work anywhere I can.
People who work with me know me for my breadth of skills and projects with me often involve a very comprehensive dive into the world of craft, self-taught art, DIY punk culture, country music and making for making’s sake.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I feel like I am honest with people and I offer them as much of myself as I can give. I really think being giving and kindly gets you immensely far in my field of work.
Contact Info:
- Website: taylorwrushing.com
- Instagram: twrushing
Image Credit:
Headshot by Sarah Stankey
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