Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Bosworth.
Hi Taylor, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I was living and working in Philadelphia when the pandemic hit. I had been solely selling my oil paintings and working as an independent contractor for a couple of years. When the world shut down, along with experiencing some personal traumatic events simultaneously, I decided that I needed to make a huge geographical move. I thought there was no better time than during a time that truly was filled with uncertainty to make a change. I decided to leave Philadelphia after 7 years, and I randomly selected Los Angeles. I moved to LA with everything I had, not really knowing what I was going to do for work and knowing only a few people. Within a matter of 7 months in LA, I was photographed and published in a national tattoo magazine, cast in a movie as an extra for my tattoos, and opened a gallery with Andrew Fingerhut who started Raking Light Projects. (Which was and is an independent publisher for tattoos and tattoo art, solely online for 10 years.) We would give birth to a physical space together to expand what he had been working on for the last decade. It is really wild how life happens when you remain completely open to becoming a witness to all of its unfolding. I had no real plans to do any of these things. I personally love tattoo culture; I am heavily adorned, and I am an oil painter. It suddenly became clear that my personal passion for these things would suddenly become fused together. Now, a year and half later the gallery is becoming more known, and we are booked out with shows every month all the way through 2024. I am beyond honored to be a part of something that feels so important. It is important to us to be able to try and fuse tattoo culture with the fine art world, all while preserving tattoo culture.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Life definitely has not been smooth, but I now know that all of my experiences led me to where I am today. To name a few that that truly changed my life, getting sober has to be the number one thing. I have been living a completely sober life for 8 1/2. I had a partner die unexpectedly right before the pandemic hit. The world shut down, and my income and work stopped, I took all the money I had and moved across country. Fast forward to being a part of opening a business with someone during one of the most uncertain times in our lifetimes; with the economy and world literally being shut down. These are just to name a few. It has been a true testament to my own strength and resilience and just keeping on despite it all.
We’ve been impressed with Raking Light Projects Gallery, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are an independent publisher and gallery based in Los Angeles. Our main goal is to fuse the tattoo world with the fine art world. We specialize in showing art from tattooers from all over the world. We publish books, make archival prints, apparel, and other speciality items. Just to give an example of a specialty item, we recently linked up with a man in Nepal and have started creating hand-knotted rugs with selected art from tattooers. We have shows every month with a different artist from all over the world, where we showcase original artwork. The last couple months we showed art from the UK, Michigan, Vietnam, and Mexico City. It is important for us to try and show a wide variety of art and artists with many different styles and from different cultures. I truly feel we have found our niche, and I hope that we continue to expand and grow for many years to come.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
The only real advice I could give is to humble yourself and really put yourself out there. Whether that’s trying something new, contacting someone you admire or asking questions. To have the courage to not give up on yourself no matter what. I have reached out to people I did not even know and asked for help; whether that was a simple question or something big. It can feel very lonely in the world and especially in a place like Los Angeles where everybody seems to be grinding, and there is always lots of energy everywhere. You will be surprised at who and what will show up for you if you are open to it.
Contact Info:
- Website: rakinglightprojects.com
- Instagram: @taylorleemade
