The name "Objective Permanence" came out of a search for something that actually captured what this work is about. It reflects the idea that the objects within a space, and their relationships to one another, shape how we feel in ways we don't always notice. I believe in choosing things deliberately, because many of them will outlast us. The best objects become so embedded in daily life that you stop seeing them as things you own and start experiencing them as part of where you live.
That thinking extends to how I approach light. Lighting designers of the 1920s, raised on the warm glow of oil lamps, were consumed with solving the harshness of the newly electric home. A century later I find myself after the same thing, this time working against the cold flatness of LEDs and the trend toward single overhead fixtures that drain a room of atmosphere. I'm interested in bringing back spaces with many small lit islands and corners, where light feels like something that lives in the room rather than something pointed at it.
I studied psychology and have always been drawn to the concept of object permanence, the moment in childhood when we understand that things continue to exist even when we can't see them. It makes me think about what happens in our spaces when we leave them. The objects stay. They hold a version of the room in place, and in some way they hold a version of us too. That's the standard I try to work to: things worth the space they occupy, in your home and in your mind.
Taylor Martin
About OP
My work draws from the generations of women who found meaning in shaping spaces, a design sensibility inherited from my grandmother and a commitment to purposeful intent passed down from my mother.
Clay found me early. I started sculpting "little guys" from modeling clay as a kid, making worlds and making gifts, and never really stopped. I studied ceramics formally in Portland, OR, where I developed a serious practice, before relocating to New York and spending years working out of studios in Brooklyn and Manhattan, eventually running several of them. These days I teach at the Newburgh Pottery and maintain a private studio in the Hudson Valley, where I do the work that feeds everything else.
What keeps me coming back to clay is its particular combination of freedom and resistance. It's endlessly flexible until it isn't, and learning to work within those limits, to stay loose without losing control, is something I find genuinely interesting every time.
My love for clay and light come together in the work itself. There's something that clicks when a form you've been turning over for months finally holds the light the way you imagined it would. After years of prototyping, adjusting, and learning, I now offer four lamp styles alongside home objects and playful blobs, all made to bring intention, beauty, and a little warmth into the spaces you live in.
About Me
I work out of my studio in Newburgh, NY and make regular trips into the city. If you're based in the Hudson Valley or have a trip to the area planned, reach out to set up a time to see a piece in person. For everyone else, I'm always happy to answer questions or talk through a custom commission.
You can find my lamps at Aziza Ali, 348 South 4th St. Brooklyn NY, at the BQ Flea, and at markets in the Hudson Valley and New York City throughout the year (reach out for specific dates).