This year, Sam Barlow’s art teacher, Amanda Gibson, was asked if a particular student had stood out in her art classes. Her response was senior and four-year art student, Zoe Taylor. Gibson stated that she applauded and admired Taylor’s capability of working in multiple media forms, like clay, pencil, and paint. Zoe Taylor draws her inspiration for artwork from “poetic music and symbols,” but “generally things that call back to the Earth and the abundant nature around us.” However, Taylor’s work tends to lean more towards her own feelings in the moment. In April of last year, Taylor entered two different media forms, a sculpture and a painting, into the Mt. Hood Community College Art Exhibit. Her painting, entitled The Path Home, won an honourable mention award, which received high praise for “her attention to detail” from Gibson. Since her freshman year, Taylor has enrolled in several different art classes: Art 1, Sculpture 1 and 2, Painting 1, and Studio Art. During an interview, Taylor stated that so far, her favorite class has been Sculpture 2, which she took during her junior year. She loved the “creative freedom” and how the class made her feel “like I was actually able to make a piece I wanted.” From that class, Taylor worked on one of her favorite projects that was also submitted in the Mt. Hood Community Art Exhibit, titled New Beginnings. Taylor recalled the sculpture, stating, “My favorite piece I’ve worked on was my Gothic, Roman-style vase. I really enjoyed the process of building it coil by coil.” Zoe Taylor’s artistic abilities have taken her far, landing her in the most advanced art class at Barlow, Studio Art, and the position of Vice-President of the National Art Honors Society.
