When I first met Natálie, I was taken by how passionate she is about her art and how much love she puts into the work she does. With recent exhibitions at Planet Art Gallery and Lux Laundromat among other accomplishments, Natálie has already achieved an incredible amount by anyone’s standards at the young age of 17.
I had the honour of sitting down and interviewing this talented young artist. Here are some of her views on the world of art from the perspective of a young person in Calgary.
Carol: Who are you and what do you aim to achieve with your art?
Natálie: My name is Natálie Slabá. I am a student in SWC high school, a traveler and an artist in many aspects. I honestly don’t “aim” to achieve anything in particular with my art. I’m rather playing around with it and creating for myself and my own personal growth.
Carol: Can you describe a situation or event when you were inspired?
Natálie: The possibilities of different sources of inspiration are limitless and occur daily. I am certain that everybody can get this intuitive notion to do something; it isn’t anything extraordinary. It could simply be a feeling you have. The most important part is to do something about it. Then it boils down to motivation.
Carol: What keeps you motivated?
Natálie: I get motivated by imagining the result. I love deep thinking and twisting things in different ways and I also love the satisfaction of an accomplishment. Sometimes I struggle though because as much as I like giving time to art, I also like spending it on my friends and myself. To get back to the previous question, a great source of inspiration are relationships, but at the same time people can be a great distraction. I love people, but I also know that I have to keep a balance. It is painful to waste creative energy… And when I am feeling creative, I know I have to act on it right away or else it’ll go to waste and so I have to choose sometimes between being alone and creating or having an easy time with people. At the same time, people are inspiring and when I am not feeling creative, then I use them as a great source of new ideas and feeling.
Carol: How has your art changed over the years? Have you had any particular experiences that have caused major changes in your art?
Natálie: Well, when I was younger I drew and painted to show off. Now I make art for myself. It helps me cope and understand different situations. My family and I moved a lot throughout my childhood. From the Czech Republic, to the United States, then back to Czech Republic, then to Ireland and then Canada. I used art to have something constant throughout. Last year I went on a French exchange. As much as I have done the exchange to learn the French language and explore the culture, more than anything I did it for myself and to prove that I am my own person in control and will not drag myself behind my parents around the globe. In France, I have not only found my own voice, but also discovered art through a different point of view. There, I was immersed in different art exhibitions, expositions, shows, art galleries and museums and have met very inspiring people like my French art professor, Hubert. My style has transformed more into abstract and impressionism and I was learning to really let go.
Carol: What advice would you give to aspiring Calgarian artists?
Natálie: To not get caught up in the business side of arts, but rather use it as a self exploring and expressing tool. Now a days in Calgary it is very possible to have a very stable salary as an artists, but from the people that I have met, they use art more as a machine that will bring them money, instead of trying to create something everlasting. They might have very good art education and connections, but is it really about art then? There are many ways to make art, but it might seem that the complete sincerity and deep thought is diminishing in these kinds of circles. There is plenty of competition too within these people, which I find completely dumb. If you’re an artist there is no need to compete with others but yourself, really. It’s about finding yourself and developing art. Some people have it turned around and make out their pieces as trends.
A big thanks to Natálie for her insight and for spending time to do this interview! To find out more about Natálie, please visit her website here.
