Meet Janny Taylor | Artist, Author, Life Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Janny Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janny, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I see risk as an inherent part of life. You can’t explore, dream or discover without risk, so I do take risks, calculated risks. One of the biggest, most important risks I’ve taken was to resign, to quit, to move away from a truly remarkable job in corporate America where I was making a fair sum of money and enjoying the perks of being a part of that world. That said, I had a personal dream. To illustrate and write a book. Everyone, with the exception of my husband, thought that I’d lost my mind. The book, “Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal” went to auction. Four major publishing houses bid on her; she received critical acclaim from numerous publications from the New York Times to O, The Oprah Magazine, who deemed me a “kooky kind of genius.” My risk paid off and paved the way for me to live a fully creative life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The making of art is primarily about process; a mix of beliefs, aesthetic sensibility, access to and an expenditure of resources. It is a complex and mysterious happening that I do not fully comprehend. But I am aware of it. I can coax it along or get out of its way and let it happen. A painter takes a kind of formless thing and gives it form and makes a language with it, but a collage artist takes things that already exist in the world that already have stories, contexts and they use it in an associative way to create a new reality.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When friends and family visit, primarily from the east coast as that is where I hail from, we include in our “tour,” a ride to Gates Pass, a visit to the award winning Tucson Botanical Garden and Tohono Chul (cactus garden and art gallery). All local, easy and beautiful. A ride to the Mission of San Xavier del Bac is on the list. As well as a hike in the Catalina Mountains. For shopping, a visit to Bhava Wellness for incredible finds and then on to the Mercado Annex, where we nourish ourselves with a Beaut Burger. TACO-BOCA, another favorite, can be found on the wonderful, charming 4th Avenue. All very Tucson delicious.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Elizabeth Criger, Rachel Nelson, Deborah Gillis, my Co-Directors of the Steinfeld Gallery & Studios, Tucson, AZ

Website: www.JannyTaylor.com

Instagram: @JannyTaylorCreates