Nevada Arts Council

The office will be closed for America’s 250th birthday.

More info

Jack Taylor

City of residence: Fernley
  • Visual Arts
  • Folk & Traditional Arts
Tracks: Creative Aging, Education, Community
Program Types: Classes, Family Friendly, Workshop
Language Proficiencies: Englishand sign language (with some interpreter assistance)
Audiences: Young Adult (18-26), Adult, Older Adult (50+), Individuals with Special Needs/Disabilities, Military and Veterans
Capacity: 10
Venues: Creative Space
Willing to Travel: Lyon County, Mineral County

The artist, Jack Taylor, has been a Nevada resident for more than 50 years. Taylor has been working with clay since his high school years at Hug High in Reno. Taylor continued his education in pottery and earned an Associate of Arts degree from Truckee Meadows Community College; and for the past several years had attended Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village: visiting artists workshop programs, where he learned glaze and design techniques from professional artists across the country. Currently, he hosts seniors for a monthly pottery class and open wood pitfire events at his home in Walker Lake, Nevada.

His early works consisted of functional pottery until several years ago when he began studying under John Septien, metal artist at Truckee Meadows Community College. He began to add metal works to his pottery. His new creations have been displayed at galleries and offices around the Reno area such as the Sierra Nevada Gallery and the Reno ArtTown and community foundation.

Older man with short gray hair, wearing a black shirt, smiling at the camera. Behind him are colorful blankets and a vibrant wall hanging, with sunlight casting shadows in the room. - Jack Taylor

School & Community Workshops

Jack Taylor offers one weekend a month community pottery class at his Cat Tails Studio in Walker Lake, Nevada. He accepts people of different ability levels in learning and creating art using different clay bodies, building techniques, firing techniques, and glazing processes. Students produce both functional and sculptural art for themselves, and sometimes, join community group projects such as “The Walker Lake Dragon (CECIL) installed at the Walker Lake site of “Bizarre 101 Gallery” recently closed.

Jack Taylor’s Work

  • A woman and a man work with clay at a table in a workshop filled with tools. The woman wears overalls and glasses, and the man has long hair and glasses. Sculpting materials and ear protection are on the table.
    Jack Taylor demonstrating hand building a box shape to a student. He made flat slabs of clay of equal size, then connected them to form a clay box. The shape will be altered once boxlike and then design carved on.
  • A person in a green hat shapes a clay pot with a tool at a workbench in a workshop. Various supplies and tools are visible on the shelves and table around them.
    A student has rounded her box and using a sharp tool etches designs on the walls. It formed a shaped lid for the top.
  • A square clay box with carved abstract patterns on its sides and lid, sitting on a work surface in a studio.
    A clay box form with lid has been carved and not yet glazed nor fired. It will need to dry, be glazed and fired two times in a kiln to vitrify the clay for use.
Return to all teaching artists

*The information provided within this Artists Directory is for informational purposes. The Nevada Arts Council is not responsible for the actions of individuals or companies in the directory. The Nevada Arts Council is not a provider or contractor for individuals on the directory. Information listed may not constitute the most up-to-date information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the user's convenience. The Nevada Arts Council does not endorse the contents of the individuals, companies, or third parties in the directory.