![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
From the beginning, Juliet Taylor, 26, has always pushed boundaries. When she won the Scholastic Gold Key in high school, her art teacher told her that her work was too large to display in Louisville’s KMAC art museum. Her piece ended up in the museum’s front window.
Taylor recounts this story, fidgeting with a lighter as she sits atop a crooked picnic table outside of the Rockerbuilt studio. She gazes ahead at a concrete wall with nearly every inch covered in graffiti.
After one glimpse of her studio at Louisville Visual Arts (LVA) just across the street, it’s clear that Taylor is not afraid to break the mold. The walls are covered in metalwork, prints and tapestries, and several sewing machines and spools of thread litter the tables.
This studio is where Taylor first heard about the SPARK project, an upcoming public art installation on the exterior of the LVA building in the Portland neighborhood. The massive sculpture consists of a burst of colorful metalwork seemingly escaping from the building. It will be visible from I-64.
“This SPARK sculpture is literally and figuratively going to put LVA on the map and the Portland neighborhood on the map,” said Angela Hagan, executive director of LVA, which focuses on arts education, artist development and public art.
SPARK stands for “Student and Professional Art Resources and Knowledge,” signifying LVA’s pillars.
Taylor was determined to be the one to make the project happen.
“I was like, I want to weld that. I want to be the guy,” Taylor said.
So, Taylor set her sights on Rockerbuilt, the metal fabricator working with Seattle-based firm Haddad | Drugan to execute the SPARK sculpture. She started taking summer classes and earned her certification from the Knight School of Welding.
“She’s very open and communicative with me about if she doesn’t understand a thing, she can ask for clarification. Whereas sometimes people’s egos can be so far in their way that they’ll struggle with something forever without asking for help,” said Andy Cook, one of Rockerbuilt’s owners and head of the metal shop where Taylor works. “I can speak to her as an artist as opposed to an employer talking to an employee.”
From a young age, Taylor has always had a passion for creating, no matter the form.
“I remember like being a little kid and just wanting to make stuff all the time,” Taylor said.
Her experiences in duPont Manual’s Visual Arts magnet sparked her interest and introduced her to one of her mentors, her teacher Cyndi Young, who first introduced Taylor to welding.
Taylor first took classes at LVA as a teenager; now, she works in one of their studios.
That same willingness to learn defines her work today. Taylor now mainly focuses on textiles and metalwork.
“I feel like those two kind of go hand in hand a lot with the pattern making,” Taylor said. “Metal and fabric, for some reason it seems to fit together in my head.”
She’s even combining the two disciplines for a dress that will match the SPARK sculpture. She plans to sew flattened aluminum cans onto cotton to make a flowy, layered skirt.
“And I’m hoping it makes sound,” Taylor said with a laugh.
But despite her accomplishments, Taylor still feels more comfortable out of the spotlight.
“The biggest struggle for me as an artist is just talking to people and putting myself out there and asking people about my stuff, or applying for shows,” Taylor said.
Even though Taylor prefers to stay out of the spotlight, her work will shine – literally. SPARK’s lighting ceremony was held Feb. 13, featuring a continuous light show that will operate 365 days a year.
Instead of having any specific milestones in mind, Taylor wants to leave her future open.
“I try to just keep making stuff and see where it takes me, rather than necessarily being like, I want to get here or have a show here,” Taylor said. “It’s more about the process for me.”
Back at Rockerbuilt, Taylor stands up from the picnic table and walks inside, returning to the maze of machinery and graffiti. She slips back into her workspace and starts making.
“At the end of the day, I think art’s one of the biggest things that brings people together from all sorts of different places and backgrounds,” Taylor said. “Everyone benefits from art, no matter what.”
This story was originally published on On the Record on February 19, 2025.
