Alabama native Lillis Taylor received her BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2003 and began working for book and toy development company, becker&mayer! books. As a product developer, Taylor was introduced to overseas manufacturing, which sparked an interest in US/China relations. Prior to making a decision about graduate school, Taylor moved to Wuhan, China to teach English, study Mandarin, and absorb Chinese culture. After one year of teaching, Taylor returned to Seattle and began pursuing a master's in China Studies from the UW's Jackson School of International Studies, receiving her degree in 2009.

 

Taylor's time in graduate school introduced her to teaching, grant-writing, and community development. While pursuing her degree, she maintained her artistic pursuits through a collaboration with her father, artist Trés Taylor. First conceived as illustrated robes for Trés' iconic monks, this collaboration would become the inspiration for Tré Lilli, a line of textiles Taylor designs using her father's imagery.

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Hoping to research Chinese communities embedded in Italy, Taylor detoured to Tuscany, supporting her now-husband's performative work as a graphic designer and photo-documentarian. 

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Taylor returned home to Birmingham, AL in 2010 and embarked on a decade of community development with a focus on how the arts can invigorate education and economic growth. Through program management for Desert Island Supply Co., a creative writing hub for youth, Taylor honed skills she later put to use as co-founder and executive director of Bib & Tucker Sew-Op, a nonprofit with the mission to cultivate skills for those who sew or want to sew. During Taylor's tenure of directorship, the Sew-Op aimed to be a hub for activities that promoted empowerment, education, and economic development.

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Since stepping away from Bib & Tucker at the end of 2023, Taylor has presented two solo exhibitions of her work in painting and textiles, as well as participated in an artist residency in Bilpin, New South Wales, Australia, where she deepened her practice of swapping skills and stories with fellow women fiber artists to build community.

 

Taylor currently splits her time between teaching art to 5th through 12th graders at her alma mater, The Altamont School, in Birmingham, and running the nonprofit, The March Quilts, whose mission is to enhance the intersection of advocacy and art through exhibition of the 16 quilts in the collection.