Carla Rae Taylor

Carla Rae Taylor (formerly Gilday) was born in St. Albert AB and raised in Yellowknife NT. She is of both Dene and Irish/French heritage. Having spent much of her youth and young adulthood close to nature, she learned to listen deeply and be in touch with intuition and creativity. Both the natural world and the dream world have inspired the creations within the borders of her paintings.

 

Translating dream imagery into drawings and acrylic paintings has long been a favoured creative approach. The dream world has always been ripe with images and messages from spirit that cause deep reflection, introspection and guidance. Stories and legends from Dene culture and from around the world have also influenced and woven their way into her work.

 

Carla’s early artistic journey led to a more formal art education, beginning in 2003 at the En’owkin Centre in Penticton BC. There she started with Foundations in Aboriginal Art and Creative Writing, then went on to complete a Bachelors of Fine Art (BFA) at the University of Victoria. After finishing the BFA, she went on to complete a certificate of Graphic Design from the Pacific Design Academy in Victoria BC. After 10 years of living in BC, reveling in the wonders of it’s natural beauty and participating in the west coast art scene, she moved to Edmonton where she spent 5 years working for iHuman Youth Society (www.ihuman.org) as their Art Coordinator, guiding inner city youth through their self discovery and healing through Art. Time spent with inner city youth influenced her art in many new ways. Elements of urban techniques play into the imagery and materials. Live painting has also been a large part of Carla's artistic practice. She has performed at many fundraisers and festivals accompanying Dj's and live musicians on stage. More recently she has been creating large scale murals and illustrating children's books. 

 

The colourful dreamscapes Carla creates are often made with a mixture of spray paint and acrylic paint on canvas. They contain stylized shapes and images fused with figures, animals, organic lines and elements reflecting nature. Each painting is her personal interpretation of dreams, visions, spiritual experiences and stories. Carla lives in Sherwood Park, AB with her beloved husband Eric and 2 children.