Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kim Taylor. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kim , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Throughout my childhood, I used various types of art as a vehicle to relax or to create something that I needed, such as pillows or simple paintings for a new apartment. It wasn’t until I discovered story quilting that I began to use art as a vehicle to process deep emotion. When Barack Obama was elected to be our 44th President I had feelings that I found difficult to verbally express. I wanted to create something to mark the historic event but felt it important to use an art form that had some connection to my ancestors. I thought about my West African ancestors, and how women there are master weavers and textile artists. I thought about enslaved African and African American women and how they used quilting to not only keep their families warm, but also to tell stories about family memories and ancestral history. I decided to try my hand at this art form and fell in love immediately. Early on I decided that I would teach myself something new for each quilt. I researched techniques online and bought many books about art quilting to help me to learn the basics. I don’t think that my journey could have been any different. It would have been wonderful to take art quilting classes early on, but it is never too late for that. There is always more too learn! Trusting the process and allowing myself to be guided by the art piece is an essential skill in my opinion. The only obstacle that has stood in my way has been limited time to create my art. I have a full time job so carving out space in my schedule has been a challenge.

Kim , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a recently published author/illustrator. My debut children’s book, A Flag for Juneteenth, released on January 3rd 2023, is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. The story leading up to the creation of this book is an interesting one. In 2014 I created a large story quilt about Juneteenth after attending a celebration in honor of the holiday. Until then, I had never heard of Juneteenth. I was asked to show my quilt at some festivals and a few local schools. Many of the students did not know about Juneteenth and it was not part of their curriculum. I wrote a short story based on my quilt to help students get a better understanding of this significant historic event. In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, I decided to tweak my story and send it out to Serendipity Literary Agency. I signed with them soon after. My agents Regina Brooks and Charles Kim loved my story and encouraged me to illustrate the book with quilts. I did not think that I could do it and refused at first. They saw something in me that I did not. Eventually I recognized that quilted illustrations made sense and would add so much to my story. When I signed with Neal Porter at Holiday House Books, I knew that I had something very special indeed.
When doing my research for the book I devoured everything I could read about Juneteenth, but that was only the beginning! I was curious about what life was like for enslaved people when they were not laboring, and to learn how they connected with their immediate and extended families. I was very interested in understanding how they built a sense of community despite such oppressive circumstances. I googled, listened to podcasts, and read books about that time. I also looked at pictures of enslaved people which helped me to imagine their personalities and lives. One picture of a little girl that I found on the Library of Congress website seemed to embody the spirit of my main character and I kept her image in mind as I developed the story.
I am very proud to tell the story of Juneteenth in a way that I hope will encourage children to want to learn more about this historic event. I felt it critical to highlight the beauty and resilience of African and African American people during their enslavement, as well as to showcase the importance of strong family and community ties. The characters in my book are purposefully faceless. I am hoping that my young readers will see themselves in my main character and will deeply connect and empathize with her.
I am incredibly proud to have illustrated this book with an art form that was used by my ancestors to tell their own stories.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of creating art is having the opportunity to be ‘in the moment’ and to be truly at one with the piece. I feel that each of my story quilts have been created through me rather than by me. During the creative process I feel a deep connection to my ancestors and feel that I am guided by them. There are times that I do not realize how many hours have gone by. I am free of distractions, and trust that each piece will be exactly what it is supposed to be, whether I have planned it that way or not. What a gift!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I do not have separate art and personal pages on social media at this point. I have many ‘friends’ on Facebook especially, some that I have met and others that I may never meet. The great thing is that for now, and this may change in the future, everyone is cheering me on. They are all part of my whole journey. Sometimes I post all of the wonderful things happening with my book, sometimes I will post about a cool jazz show that I went to over the weekend. For now its fun not having to compartmentalize my life. I feel supported by my social media community. For those just starting to build a social media presence, this may be a way to begin. Start with what you have and pick up new friends as you go.    

Contact Info:

• Website: https://materialgirlstoryquilts.com/
• Instagram: comfortzne1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comfortzne
• Twitter: @comfortzne1
• Other: Amazon author’s page: amazon.com/author/kimtaylor

Image Credits
Erskine Isaac for ivisionphoto