Pottery Of Marcia Taylor To Be Featured

At Regional Hospice’s June 15 Arts Festival

RIDGEFIELD — Well-known local artist and Newtown resident Marcia Taylor will be in the spotlight as the featured artist at the 2007 Regional Hospice Arts Festival & Cosmopolitan Buffet on June 15, hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation at the company’s headquarters in Ridgefield.

Ms Taylor has participated as an artist in the annual Arts Festival & Cosmopolitan Buffet for several years, and has won Best in Show for 3-Dimensional Art for the past two years. Her exquisite pieces celebrate nature, uniquely combining reptiles, insects and native plants with the beauty of fine stoneware or porcelain.

Ms Taylor, a trained silversmith and enamellist who has studied at Syracuse University, Hofstra University, Silvermine School of Art and Brookfield Craft Center, fell in love with clay after taking a class just for fun.

“The earth in my hands connects my imagination with the myriad creatures and plants I have discovered while kayaking or hiking — they come home in my mind and go on a pot!” she explains. All of her pieces are true to life; she studies reference books to make sure each design is an accurate representation of the real plants and animals as they would exist together in nature. Every step is meticulously hand crafted, from throwing the pot to appliquéing the animals and details — there are no molds. It can take two days or two weeks to finish an individual piece.

A recent trip to Costa Rica had a profound affect on Taylor.

“I could walk out my door and there would be an iguana, four feet long. Birds were like a box of crayons,” she recalls. Many of the pieces that will appear in the 2007 Arts Festival & Cosmopolitan Buffet were inspired by that trip.

Ms Taylor maintains a pottery studio in Newtown, and has shown her work in various galleries. Recently Ms Taylor shared an exhibition with Nancy Moore, who she met at last year’s Arts Festival & Cosmopolitan Buffet. Ms Moore also won Best of Show and, like Ms Taylor, she takes a unique look at nature in her colorful and expressive crayon drawings.

The public is invited to view and purchase Marcia Taylor’s artwork, and the work of more than 100 other artists, at The Regional Hospice Arts Festival & Cosmopolitan Buffet on Friday, June 15, at 7 pm. The event is hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim at its US corporate headquarters, 900 Ridgebury Road in Ridgefield. The event includes refreshments and live music.

Admission is $100 per person. For reservations or more information, contact Regional Hospice at (203) 797-1685.