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Firebug Productions' Artist, Douglas E. Taylor, Jr. was born in Lebanon, Indiana on April 3, 1974. Douglas grew up living in various areas of Indiana Indianapolis, Spencer, and finally moving to Sarasota, Florida from New Palestine, Indiana. Douglas attended Riverview High of Sarasota, where he graduated in 1992. Throughout his childhood, Douglas was influenced by an industrial and craft-oriented family. Watching his family in carpentry and the machining trade spurred his desire to create through various media. Douglas first found clay in middle school and was attracted to its versatility. He attended Sarasota Vocational Institute where he studied Automotive Tech and Tool & Die. He moved to the Tampa, Florida area to attend Hillsborough Community College where he received an AA degree and then graduated from the University of South in 2000 with his Bachelor of Arts degree, with a focus in a holistic discipline of ceramics. Douglas also enjoys studying various other industrial arts and is prolific in metalworking, woodworking, glass blowing, and photography. Mr. Taylor has been a guest lecturer for schools (K-12), adult education programs, and has done various workshops on ceramic techniques. During his studies as an undergraduate he explored, in great depth, the process of Crystalline firing and glaze formulation, which yielded a wealth of knowledge for the process. Through this intense experimentation, he now has a library of color combination formulas for crystalline glazing. Douglas has worked with William K. Turner from September of 1995 to December of 2001, where he enjoyed the title of Production Manager at Raku Art Inc. The various duties included: kiln maintenance and construction, glaze formulation and prep, new product development, and artistic collaboration. Upon his graduation from USF in 2000, Douglas was established as a partner in Raku Art Inc. This position was disrupted after September 11, 2001, when the market William and Douglas were catering to fell off. In January of 2002, Douglas took a position at Ybor Glass & Iron Works, as a glass blower and fabricator. This pleasant opportunity opened up a new and exciting direction for Douglas' work incorporating new materials and techniques into his art. Firebug Productions is the title of Douglas' work as a whole, including: ceramic art, sculpture, glass blowing and photography. His current series of mixed media works reflect years of study and understanding within the art field. Mr. Taylor's work has been shown throughout Florida and selected galleries and design centers across the U.S. Recently, Douglas has shown new works of glass and steel in Ybor City, Tampa, and displays and Central Florida galleries. The Art Pros Curators Dan Rojas, Vesna Anderson, and Denise Rojas |
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