Birches Pond Farm

Carol and Carlton Taylor

Carol Taylor   Etchings & Collage

Carol Taylor has been working as a printmaker for over 50 years.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Southern Connecticut State University, and subsequently taught art for three years in the Avon, CT school system.  After receiving her graduate degree from Central Connecticut State University she began to work full time on printmaking.  She has exhibited her work in numerous shows and galleries across New England, and has won many awards. She has recently moved to St Pete Beach, FL.

 

Carol works with two coordinated techniques.  The first and more traditional of her works is the timeless etching or intaglio print.  The etching/intaglio process involves drawing a design on a metal plate which has been coated with an acid resistant material called “ground”.  After the drawing is finished, the plate is immersed in an acid bath and  is etched wherever metal has been exposed.  The ground is then removed, and ink is rubbed into the etched lines, hand-printed, dried, and hand-colored with watercolors.  Each of Carol’s etchings is printed in limited editions of one hundred.


The second and more abstract of Carol’s techniques is the collage.   The collage pieces incorporate portions of her etchings, various special papers, metallic threads, cords, sheet music, and even beads.  The collages will often include parts of two or three of her etchings, cut into pieces.  They are then sewn back together, using decorative zig-zag stitching, to create one unique work of art, that in some instances is more reminiscent of a quilt than of a print or collage.  They are all one-of-a-kind pieces.

  

“Nature has always been an inspiration - the delicate shapes of flower petals, the bare branches of winter trees.  I use zig-zag stitches to invoke the feel and flow of wind in the trees, or movement in the leaves.  Sometimes a color, a rustle of sounds, a leaf, even a scrap of paper will inspire me to create a new world of trees and landscape abstracted into shapes but still invoking the feeling of nature around us.”

Carlton Taylor   Photographs

 

Once Carlton retired in 2005, he was able to devote considerably more time to his photography.   What had been an occasional diversion and part time hobby became a calling.  Recognition came quickly.  Carlton’s work has been accepted into a number of juried shows (winning numerous awards) and is now in many private collections.  He exhibited at outdoor shows with his wife for many years in New England before recently moving to Florida.


 The focus of Carlton’s camera over the years has been quite varied, dictated more by the opportunity to take pictures than by a specific theme or subject.  Vacations were usually taken with camera in hand, walks through the “back forty” provided many opportunities, and trips to Maine were a veritable feast.  Opportunities for quick shots have come while walking around towns and cities. 


Not missing the olden days of working with chemicals and paper in the darkroom, Carlton has embraced the digital age.  The convenience of working on prints on the computer, and the ability to print them with today’s advanced inkjet printers, is fantastic.  The possibilities are endless, although Carlton is not one to do much manipulation.  He is perhaps just doing more easily what master photographers had done for years as they fine tuned prints from their negatives.


 A “new” print might be one that came from a negative taken twenty years ago.  To photograph is to capture a perhaps unique and fleeting image that is somehow special in the photographer’s eyes.  To print that image, share it, and have it appreciated by the viewer is the ultimate reward.  Echoing a comment about artists from the New Zealand Prayer Book:  May you, through my work, “see creation afresh”!

Birches Pond Farm

Carol and Carlton Taylor moved to New Hartford, CT, in 1979.  They had hoped to find a country property where they could grow Christmas trees.  The week their son Christopher was born they found a 22 acre property in New Hartford.  The house and yard were not in good shape, a "fixer upper", but it was a long term commitment.

Since their property was to become a tree farm they thought they should give it a name.  They loved their pond, with birches reflecting in the water.  The pond was at the front of the property, visible to passersby, as were the gardens and trees surrounding it.  It wasn't hard to come up with the name "'Birches Pond Farm."

The property was heavily wooded, with trees coming up to the small yard behind the house.  With 22 acres, however, anything was possible.  In addition to fixing up the house, work began clearing acreage for the planting of Christmas trees.  Since the cleared area was on a downslope behind the house, once the trees were cleared a panoramic view opened up.  The view was enjoyed by many visitors over the years.

The Taylors sold Christmas trees from their property for 26 years.  Families came every year, with kids running down the hill looking for the perfect tree.  Santa was there giving out candy canes, and adventures were had as trees were cut, hauled, and loaded by the customers.  Many memories were made by all.

While the impetus for buying the property was the tree farm, it also became the main venue for "Open House" art shows.  Carol used the house as her gallery every year in the  Fall.  Her art customers came for the art, the view, and the beautiful foliage.  After Carlton retired, and started showing his photographs, the house gallery was too small.  A beautiful barn was built adjacent to the tree farm parking lot, and Spring and Fall shows were possible at the farm.  The last show was held over two weekends in the Spring of 2022.  It was time to move closer to family.

After 43 years, the Taylors sold Birches Pond Farm in the summer of 2022.  They now split their time between houses in St. Pete Beach, FL, and Aurora, CO.  While the locales are different, their callings remain the same.  Art work will still be produced and exhibited, and yards will be worked on, but at a somewhat slower pace.  While there are many great memories from the past, new ones will be made for sure.

Carol & Carlton Taylor

(860) 605-6295

BirchesPondFarm@gmail.com