A Letter to Joe Taylor

September 26, 2019 by Taylor Studios in Other

Recently, my friend and mentor up and moved to Wisconsin. At first, this didn’t really strike me as odd and I wasn’t overcome with sadness. I brushed it off as something that sounded like something he would do.

That’s Joe for yah.

Since then, I’ve looked
back at the time I was able to spend with Joe early in my career here at Taylor
Studios. I have many fond memories working alongside Joe learning
any and everything he was willing to throw my way.

My first memory of
Joe was the phone call I received from him while I was still in college.
He was looking for a graphic designer graduating soon and he was given my
name as someone who would “fit Joe’s personality and enjoy working in the
museum industry.” Well, that certainly proved to be true after I was hired
and had the privilege to work with him. I remember his soft-spoken voice over
the phone and how I was completely comfortable speaking with him.

Right off the bat Joe had
to teach me several things that I’m sure were frustrating to him like using a
scale ruler, the basics about exhibit design, and whatever you do don’t damage
Betty’s Conference room table! Seriously though, I was pretty green and
had very little knowledge of the museum design and fabrication world. He
was very patient with me and I greatly appreciate that.

After not more than a month
on the job Joe and Betty approached me about working out in the shop.
They wanted to know If I felt comfortable helping carve and paint a 14-foot bass
model. Freaking out inside, I said yes! Holy crap what an
opportunity! I had a blast and loved every long day and minute working on
that model.

Jason and a very large model of a fish

I was also given the
opportunity to go with Joe and the team on install and see the job through to
completion. The install is my fondest memory with Joe. Don’t get me
wrong, I have so many memories with Joe that I love, but this install is where
it all started for me and where I think I gained his trust. Anything he
threw at me I did and I approached it like I had done it several times before.
Well that’s what I remember anyway. . . how funny would it be for Joe to say
the complete opposite. Anyways, I had a blast learning how to install
exhibits and painting fish models. It was my first time on a scissor lift high
up into the rafters suspending fish and shark models. I remember Joe
had this game he played to help the time go by. He would be over across
the gallery on a ladder and yell out “One Dollar!”

That meant he wanted us to
guess what song was in his head and if we did we won a dollar. Sounds
stupid but I liked it.

I remember Joe sitting me
down when we got back to the studio and telling me how good of a job I did and
that he told Betty I was a rock star on install. I need to stop here and
make sure you all understand that I’m not bragging here but merely letting you
know what exactly he said that made me so very proud. This was Joe
Taylor telling me this. He was saying this about little ole me whom he
hired to be a graphic designer. That fact that he told Betty was just
awesome. The fact that he and Betty took a chance on me and offered me a
job is just amazing to me and I am grateful to this day for that.

Joe and I grew closer and
became friends, not just Master and Young Grasshopper. We spent many a
night in the studio eating pizza and working on projects to make sure we met
our deadlines. Joe could always find ways to make working fun.
He had taught his cat Jack how to catch a football. It’s true!
I remember throwing the nerf football at Jack and he would stand on his
two hind legs with his arms stretched out and grab the ball. It was
hilarious! Ok, so maybe we weren’t working too hard.

I’ve never told him this
but I have always admired how much he knows about everything. I was
amazed at all the knowledge he had about things no normal person did. He
knew certain math equations that I had forgotten years ago because I would
never need to remember that. He built ultralight airplanes and flew them.
He could identify just about any animal and plant you showed him. I
remember him telling me one day, Jason if you remember one thing remember
this…”Sedges have edges and rushes are round”. I’ve never
forgotten it and I’ve used it throughout my time here at Taylor. He just
knew everything and thus I wanted to also. I soaked up what he said like
a sponge. I wanted to know plants and animals like he did so we had
something in common other than, at the time, liking Adam Sandler music. “Toll
Booth Willie” was awesome. Inappropriate but awesome.

My son Quinten caught his
first fish out at Joe’s pond. I’ll never forget my three-year-old son
running up to Joe and hugging him. This is important because Joe had only seen
Quinten a couple of times by this point so it was memorable for me. You
see Quinten could see that same soft-spoken good guy that I saw earlier and
immediately felt safe with him and knew he could trust him.

A proud Quinten with his first fish

I have many memories with
Joe and that is why I feel so bad that I hadn’t kept in touch more when he left
Taylor Studios to pursue a career making and selling wine. I got so
wrapped up with work and family that I just lost track of my friend and I feel
really saddened now. Now that he’s moved to Wisconsin and I know I won’t be
able to see him much.

Joe will be missed!
I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch with him more over the years. I
wish Joe and Dawn the best in Wisconsin and I hope they both find many new
adventures to post on Facebook.

Hey Joe, if you’re reading
this thank you for teaching me what I know about making exhibits, natural
history, glitter, unicorns, gold toner, Payne’s gray, David
Hasselhoff, and for the memories. Thanks for being my friend and let’s
please try to keep in touch. Good luck with your new adventure and
chapter in your and Dawn’s life!

Your friend.

Jason