Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Taub.
Hi Jordan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Where to begin… I believe it all started when I was a teen. I decided to advocate for myself, and insist that The Art Magnet program at Richardson High School was the right fit for me. My parents quickly understood why that was such a critical decision. Upon graduation, I decided to take the path of earning my BFA in Visual Arts Studies (Art Ed). I graduated from the University of North Texas in 2010 with my Texas Teaching certification in hand. I always felt most happy talking to others about art and creating alongside them, why not turn that into a career! I had the privilege of working with all mediums in school and exploring everything from paint to woodworking, but never glass. I spent the next decade guiding my own students through their art journeys in the public education system. In 2018 an opportunity presented itself, and I took on the role of being an Art Magnet Director at one of the secondary schools in my district. In fact, I spent my teaching career in the same district that I grew up in. This was a very full circle moment. Which is why it was so difficult to even consider stepping away. Due to family health reasons, I left public education and began a short personal sabbatical. At that time, I met my mentor, Nan Phillips, during an art drop for a juried show at the Dallas Love Field Airport. As it turned out, Nan had an incredible open concept glass studio where she held classes for adults, sharing her work space and guiding wonderful artists through individual projects. After chatting for a moment, I knew that I had to take a class! She had a wild idea and it was just exciting enough for me to take her up on it! I walked into Nan’s Glass Studio one day not realizing she would change the trajectory of my career entirely. The general theme of glass work is that we do not always know what we want our lives to be, but glass has a way of finding you! Which is exactly what happened. I never worked with glass before meeting Nan. She didn’t seem concerned about that. Had total faith in us from the moment we met. We trained together for close to 9 months and then I purchased the business from her. When Nan and I met, she was in the midst of receiving a troubling diagnosis for her husband and knew she wanted to retire and move to Colorado. I was in the process of building a new life that I didn’t know existed yet. Our timing was serendipitous to say the least. It was important to Nan that we continue breathing new life into this art form and give people an accessible space to create! In 2022, Jordan Taub Studios LLC was created and we moved all of the equipment and glass supplies into my space. Honoring what Nan worked so hard to build. Continuing Nan’s legacy and keeping the business model exactly as she had it. It is hard to believe we are about to celebrate our two year business anniversary in July! In another beautiful silver lining to all of this, my mother retired from her career around the same time as my “plot twist”. She is involved with as much or as little of the daily studio operations as she chooses to be. The glass studio performs at full capacity, currently serving our community 9 classes a week, plus additional workshops and parties. People come weekly to take classes and I guide them through their own designs. This can be in either kiln formed glass or stained glass. Sometimes we make things extra fun and combine the two processes! While we work together during class sessions, there are many things that happen behind the scenes to keep the magic alive! I am constantly firing kilns and rotating student projects in and out to accommodate different sizes, temperatures, and textures. Each piece that goes into these kilns are entirely unique and one of a kind! In the midst of it all, we work hard to document the process and celebrate every win. We also learn from each and every challenge. I will never regret having taken this risk of learning an entirely new medium and starting my own business. I do not know what our future holds, but we are enjoying every moment, in THIS moment!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I want to start by saying that I have gratitude for all the things that did and continue to work out. Everything has had a way of working together in a sequence of events that got me to this very moment. However, I would not use “smooth road” to describe this journey. As I previously mentioned, I left the public school system unexpectedly in 2020. Everything about my life changed. I know that period was a pivotal moment for so many people, and I don’t think anything was left unmarked. We were all impacted in some way, and my family was hit hard. Working with a brilliant team still educating while all of the schools shut down, I found myself teaching advanced artists how to create art with condiments from their kitchens and submit their artwork on a digital platform. We connected through zoom, while not knowing what was truly going on in each other’s immediate lives. In my personal life, my father was trapped in the hospital and not allowed visitors while the world battled Covid. I lost my father early summer of 2020 in a two year fight with a rare form of blood cancer. I took on a caregiver role, caring for my mother and aunt, which left me to make tough decisions for the following academic school year. I cannot stress enough how much I loved teaching in the Magnet Program. I had always thought I would be a career public school teacher. Then life happened. After resigning, I didn’t know what would come next. I just hoped that whatever it would be, involved something that lit my soul on fire! My bump in the road, plot twist, or unexpected detour, landed me exactly where I was meant to be. Nothing about learning a new medium and training with Nan was particularly easy, except for the relationship that she and I built. She was my mentor and laughed with me through every obstacle and failure: every bad cut, kiln failure, and every transition of the business between us. We had a tight timeline from the moment we met. She had a firm deadline and I had to make some major moves in that time. For instance, studio development in my space while training. Teaching 7 classes a week at J’s Art Studio while also apprenticing with Nan for 6 classes a week. All the while, building a website, filing the business, and consulting with electricians and movers. We had a lot of learning moments to say the least. We really do grow through what we go through. Looking back, Nan and I still shake our heads and wonder how we pulled this off. A lot like working with glass, it all took a lot of planning, reevaluating, adjusting expectations, and pushing forward with a positive attitude. Oh and bandaids. Lots of bandaids.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Having earned a BFA in Visual Arts Studies, I dabbled in everything but focused primarily on paint and mixed media. Then I decided to shift into oil painting. This creative background then transferred all of my skills into glass design work and the chemistry of it all. My work is primarily now focused on stained glass and fused pieces. I am fascinated by application with color and understanding how those colors may change or react with heat. Subject matter wise, my artwork comes from a place of protection and symbolism. Designing mixed media hamsas for daily doodles, turned into my coloring book and then into stained glass suncatchers. I am inspired by plants and nature. Creating life in the natural world and observing what blooms. I believe what sets me apart is taking everything I’ve been through and turning it into a support system for others through art that uses symbolism, nature, and a medium that is the opposite of forgiving. Elements and principles of design have carried me through my career. My art and purpose of taking care of others have become connected. My personal work and approach to teaching are holistic in an industrial studio approach. It is important to note that the open studio is what fuels all creative production. I am most proud of my ability to have a growth mindset. I rarely meet an issue that I don’t look right in the eyes. I am always challenged to be open-minded to adapt a workshop, project, or special design that would otherwise not exist! Glass is a very niche medium and that makes serving a community of people who are interested, even more special to me! I want to make it accessible! When thinking about what sets me apart, I am a teaching artist. I have trained in all mediums and have a vast understanding of the process and fundamentals of art. Both in execution of creation but also in teaching others foundational principles for the last 14 years. Application with more risk-averse materials makes creative problem solving that much more interesting. Guiding a hands-on studio of creatives always provides an authentic in-the-moment experience. The process has become just as important, if not more, than the final outcome. We learn something new with each challenge or “misfire”. We are constantly fueling each other creatively and gaining momentum from it. I am a more robust creator when in a shared space with other creatives.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I would build a community on the playground in elementary school. I didn’t realize at the time, that was what happened, but it was organic. Instead of playing on the monkey bars, I would sketch and use any art supplies I could find. I loved drawing and that spoke to me during my “down time”. I ended up transferring to my first Magnet School (Hamilton Park) in the middle of my elementary years. This playground studio turned into a daily ritual that I created and peer connected with. By the time I got to high school, I learned that being my own advocate was critical. I spoke up for myself and let my parents know that I wanted to audition for the Arts Magnet High School instead of the school that they originally hoped for me to attend. I was thankfully accepted into the Visual Arts Magnet program and proceeded to take my “lunch break” in the art room for the following 3 years. I graduated from the gravel to the drafting table for the midday doodle sessions. I felt like I belonged there. I was silly and loved to make people laugh and crack jokes. Except I was also a moody artist and for sure had my spiked belt and heavy eyeliner phase! I really found many outlets to express myself and even practiced fancy hairstyles on my friends at slumber parties! That quickly turned into my first “job” growing up – doing hair for people for school dances. Dabbling in an entrepreneurial mindset at a young age. When I say young age, I mean young. We are talking 13. I was lucky to have parents that understood (eventually) that what I needed, may not be what they envisioned for my life. I loved problem solving, family, quality friend time, museums, and anything crafty.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JordanTaubStudios.com
- Instagram: @JordanRachelTaub
Image Credits
Emily Catoe IG @_emilyjadams_ eja2589@gmail.com
