Joe Taylor & Jonathan Marquis
Shaping the Edge
Wonder and play are powerful avenues for learning.
Red Lodge, 2026
I create abstract ceramic sculptures that blend elements of the human body with features of the natural world. My process begins with spontaneous mark-making in my sketchbook, through which I explore the movement of my wrist and arm. The movement and reach of my joints are recorded as arching lines and sweeping bends. These drawings often evoke rock outcroppings, reminiscent of landscapes found in the mountains of the American West — places that captivate me and spark my wonder.
Much of my process is shaped by my explorations of the Nevada wilderness and my experience teaching K–12 art, both of which have deepened my appreciation for the world around us. Material exploration is central to my practice, mirroring the tactile experience of route-finding in the wilderness. The destination of my work is revealed only through the process of making, as each decision and risk taken is a response to the material's parameters, much like navigating the elements of a landscape.
Every choice becomes a record of discovery — a tactile way of knowing both place and self.My work exists primarily as biomorphic abstraction, drawing on nature to create forms that allude to being alive. By placing these mysterious, organic forms in built environments — such as our homes — we acknowledge our intrinsic connection to nature. Through this, I aim to foster a deeper sense of belonging to the natural world, making our inhabited spaces more livable and meaningful.
Together, the melting edge of a glacier and I make an image.
Glacier National Park
Downwaste is a series of cyanotypes made with the melting edge of glaciers in Glacier National Park. This body of work pictures glacial melt and responds to glaciers as active agents of ice, rock, and snow. "Downwasting" in glaciology refers to the thinning of a glacier due to the melting of ice. The term references the site of the artwork's production, while emphasizing the loss of these places due to anthropogenic climate change.
To produce a Downwaste cyanotype, I treat a sheet of paper with a solution, making it receptive to light and material encounters. I hike the paper in a lightproof container to the melting edge of one of the twenty-six remaining glaciers in Glacier National Park. As soon as I remove the paper from the lightproof tube, the process begins. I urgently work with the glacial runoff, press the paper into the snow, distribute nearby rocks, chunks of ice, and glacial silt across the receptive surface. Gravity, wind, and I move the materials around during the exposure to develop layers and double exposures.
The way we imagine a glacier has significant impacts on the ground.The process unfolds like a 10-minute performance. My body moves and bends toward the glacier as we race against time and sunlight. Downwaste invites the viewer to think with glaciers as meaningful actors, whose existence — or lack thereof — shapes the physical and psychological landscapes that humans and ice depend upon and co-inhabit.
Sculptor of wonder, educator at heart.
Born and raised in rural Northern Nevada, Montana-based ceramic artist Joe Taylor explores the emotional state of wonder through his abstract sculptures, which investigate the intricate relationships between people, landscapes, creatures, and the natural world. Rooted in curiosity and play, his work reflects a fascination with the microscopic and macroscopic, the human and the geological.
A former K–12 art educator for 15 years, Taylor embraces inquiry as a transformative learning tool. He recently graduated with an MFA in Ceramic Sculpture from the University of Montana and is currently a long-term artist in residence at Red Lodge Clay Center.
Artist, mountaineer, glacier collaborator.
Jonathan Marquis is a multi-disciplinary artist and mountaineer seeking immersive experiences with wildland terrain to consider more-than-human geographies. His investigations began as an endeavor to draw the remaining glaciers in Montana. He has since covered thousands of miles on foot, translating his encounters into drawings, paintings, videos, and alternative photographic processes.
Marquis received his MFA from the University of Arizona. He launched the Glacier Drawing Project on Kickstarter and debuted the completed project at the Missoula Art Museum in 2024. Something to Hold, a film documenting the Glacier Drawing Project, premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in 2026. His works have been exhibited nationally and abroad, including at the SFO Museum, the Center for Visual Arts in Denver, 516 Arts in Albuquerque, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, and the University of Arizona Museum of Art. Marquis is an arts educator at MiraCosta College.