James Edward Talbot (he goes by “Talbot”) is a multi-disciplinary artist of staggering breadth.  No matter which combination of media or scale the work, the typical response to his art is one of delight, and the word most often used to describe it is “magical”.

His work is as rich and varied as his multi-cultural past. Raised military, Talbot had lived on five continents and six states by college age, with more to follow, which helps to explain the eclectic and exotic nature of his work.  He received his BA in Architecture, minoring in Fine Arts, from Houston’s Rice University, with a focus on children’s environments.  He gained notoriety there for taking a 5-month stint to help build a 5-level treehouse on the coast of Honduras (for which he received credit), and coverage in the 1973 alternative architecture book Shelter, the first of many publications to feature his art.

Upon graduation he moved to Austin “to resume my childhood” and has since established himself as one of the longest-standing artists of Austin’s creative counterculture.  Apart from his studio art, landscaping (he's an excellent mason), and many children’s playscapes, Talbot has enriched the city with  public landmarks such as Folk Toy, the pedestrian bridge mosaics at Bergstrom Airport, the tile-covered sculpture on South Congress, the Fairy Pavilion in Walnut Creek Park, the play castle at Wells Branch Community Center, and the Magic Portal in Little Stacy Park.

But his best-known work is Casa Neverlandia, a hand-built, mosaic-clad, art house/studio/gallery complex.  Nestled in the heart of Austin’s SoCo District, Casa has been featured on HGTV and TLC, every book on “keeping Austin weird” (it’s even on the cover of Weird Homes), Urban Art ATX, and in Natural Home Magazine, in which it placed 3rd in their Home of the Decade competition.  Thousands of people from all over the world have taken one of the many tours he schedules regularly.

This website is an archive of his most notable and award-winning work, divided into sections—Large Installations, Mixed Media, Mosaics, Beadwork, and Casa Neverlandia—as well as the current pieces he has for sale in his art gallery at Casa.  Most easily contacted by email (talbot@talbotworld.com), he also has a presence on Facebook (Casa Neverlandia) and Instagram (talbotworld).