Andrea (aka Aundi) Taylor

Art through Multiple Modalities


Portfolio and Works of Art 

This portfolio page contains a high-level snapshot of my various artworks through metalwork and sculpture, photography, and collaborative works.  Some sections link to other pages that go deeper into various projects if further exploration of my work is wanted. 

Metals

Click to expand this section for more information on the pieces below.

Metal art and jewelry fabrication is also a medium I've taught numerous community classes and workshops in.  Teaching this form is an additional way to connect with the learnings and teachings of my grandmother (and all my other teachers) while carrying the tradition forward.  More of my jewelry works can be found here.


Efflorescence - Raised Copper Vessel with Patina- 1998

This started as a vessel that contained questions on life and what femininity means.  Is femininity a fragile flower, a vehicle for creation?  What does feminism mean through time as she progresses towards the crone?  Hand raised from copper, this piece is colored with fire scale from its original inception and natural cupric patinas turquoise and green that demonstrate the mark of time.

Koru and Whale Tail  - Chased/Repoussé Sterling  Silver - 2017

Growing up, I saw images of the koru hinted in my grandmother's art and  in her books on her home country of New Zealand and Maori art. When I finally traveled there, I saw how integral this spiral shape, that recalls the unfurling of a fern frond symbolizing new life and growth, is part of the New Zealand honoring the Maori traditions as part of their culture. 

The Fire Within -Sterling  Silver and Agate -2021

Some damaged redwood trees (due to fires or logging) will sprout creating what is called a fairy ring. In this pendant, sterling silver is forged, curved, in a fairy ring circle to frame a floating carnelian stone reminiscent of a fire within.   

Split Decision - Burned Wood and Copper Sculpture - 2021

The Carr Fire in 2018 came within 1 mile of my mom's house.  She was evacuated for a week while firefighters held the blaze off.  The fire had already ravaged areas I frequented growing up in Redding, CA.  I found this fragment of wood in one of the burn zones in 2021.   Regrowth is happening, but it is slow.  The copper stand represents the roots that still exist. Some will grow back while others are still burning beneath the soil. 

Efflorescence 

Raised Copper Vessel with Patina - 1998

Koru and Whale Tail

Chased/Repoussé Sterling  Silver - 2017


The Fire Within

Sterling  Silver and Agate - 2021  

Split Decision

Burned Wood and Copper Sculpture - 2021

Photography

Redding Deconstructed - 1995

These 4 images come from my Redding Deconstructed Series which consists of 8 images total that capture fragments of memories of construction and building supply yards from my hometown in California.

Structural Decay

Silver Gelatin Print + Bristol and Graphite  – from the Redding Deconstructed Series.

Curvilinear

Silver Gelatin Print + Bristol and Graphite  – from the Redding Deconstructed Series.

Coils and Wire

Silver Gelatin Print + Bristol and Graphite  – from the Redding Deconstructed Series.

Commemorated Wrecking Ball 

Silver Gelatin Print + Bristol and Graphite  – from the Redding Deconstructed Series.

Digital Photography

Click to expand this section for more information on the images below.

Images tell a story of the passage of time and how fleeting it can be. I aspire to have my eyes open with curiosity in the right moment so as to capture the right lighting, color, and composition.


Banjarmasin Stilt House Over Water - Banjarmasin, Indonesia  - 2009

It's more than just a beautiful painted building reflected in water. A tiny piece of litter lies in the the bright green grass.  Plastic wrappers and littering were pervasive across Indonesia while I lived there.

Land Acknowledgement and Freedom- San Francisco, CA - 2017

Aztec dancers stand at attention at a powwow in a SOMA park in San Francisco. The county jail and courthouse building stands in the background.

Burned Tree and Webs - Butano State Park, CA - 2021

Soon after the CZU fire was extinguished, spiders began to move into the burned trees.

A 2020 Birthday Party - San Francisco, CA - 2020

A young girl celebrates her birthday in the height of social distancing.

Banjarmasin Stilt House Over Water

Digital Image - Banjarmasin, Indonesia  - 2009

Burned Tree and Webs

Digital Image - Butano State Park, CA - 2021

Land Acknowledgement and Freedom

Digital Image - San Francisco, CA - 2017

A 2020 Birthday Party

Digital Image - San Francisco, CA - 2020

Collaborative Projects and Performance

Refuse and Refuge

Collaborative Installation - 1995

During my undergraduate degree, I collaborated on an independant project headed by a Masters in Social Work student, Amy Donovan. As part of her graduating thesis about homeless youth in San Francisco, she created a collaborative art installation.  My involvement in this project was varied.  I took slide photos in the Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco that would be later projected on the walls of the gallery, I created a sidewalk scene out of concrete slabs and a chain link fence with panhandling slogans written on the walls by the youth artists, and I helped to curate the photos for these youth took from their day-to-day lives in the heart of the city for the exhibit.  The images below depict the postcard advertisement and my cover image showing items left behind at a youth shelter in San Francisco.


Forsaken Belongings

Black and White Photo - San Francisco 1995

Performance

The Only Jealousy of Emer - 2010

In this performance in collaboration with the San Francisco Conservatory BluePrint ensemble, a faculty led student ensemble focusing on new music, I was the visual designer and lead puppeteer.  The video below is a compilation of scenes from this shadow puppet performance that included found objects, puppets I fabricated, and one of my handmade puppet masks worn by one of the actors.

Current Projects

A New Rulebook: Living with Fire

In the summer of 2018, my hometown of Redding, CA was threatened by one of the earliest superfires that we now experience as commonplace.  In this video and sculpture series, I’m exploring the impacts of this fire on the land, the community, and the people who fight fires. We once worked so hard to suppress the fire but now are faced with changing our approaches to be more in sync with the environment and to evolve our mental capacity to cope in this new era of climate change-induced disasters. 

Beyond Us

This first video is a collaboration with my husband, Jacques Desjardins who wrote the original score.  I shot this video and associated photos with a combination of a Nikon DSLR, an iPhone 11, and a GoPro. Supplemental images are from archives of the Bureau of Land Management, Cal Fire, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, and a photo by Fred Fago. 

Resources to Explore for Potential Projects:

"2020 Incident Archive," Cal Fire. Accessed November 29, 2021, https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/.

"Climate Change Indicators: River Flooding," United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2016). Accessed November 16, 2021, https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-river-flooding.

Driscoll, Sharon & Leonard, Diana. "California Burning: Stanford Research Looks at Drought, Wildfires, and Smoke and the Growing Risks of Climate Change in the Golden State," Stanford Lawyer. December 15, 2021. https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-lawyer/articles/california-burning/

"Fires," Nasa. Accessed November 16, 2021, from https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/topic/fires.

Garthwaite, Josie. "Stanford researchers identify ‘double-hazard’ zones for wildfire in the West," Stanford News. February 7, 2022. https://news.stanford.edu/2022/02/07/wildfire-burn-area/

Garthwaite, Josie. "Stanford-led research shows carbon emissions have rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels," Stanford News. November 3, 2021. https://news.stanford.edu/2021/11/03/carbon-emissions-rebound-near-pre-pandemic-levels/ 

Hill, Avery and Christopher Field. (2021) "Forest fires and climate-induced tree range shifts in the western US," Nature Communications.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26838-z

Jordan, Rob. "Stanford researchers reveal how wildfire accelerates forest changes," Stanford News. November 15, 2021. https://news.stanford.edu/2021/11/15/trees-on-the-move/.

"How climate change is making record-breaking floods the new normal," UN Environment Programme.  Accessed November 16, 2021, https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-climate-change-making-record-breaking-floods-new-normal.

Rao, Krishna et. al. (2022). Plant-water sensitivity regulates wildfire vulnerability. Nature, Ecololgy & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01654-2 

"Ready for Wildfire," Cal Fire. Accessed January 11, 2022, https://www.readyforwildfire.org/

Copyright Notice:  This website, the images within and demonstration of artworks are the original designs and copyright of the artist Andrea (Aundi) Taylor.  No portion may be copied or reproduced without permission.