Nat from Northern Sky Design, is just one of the brilliant artists we get the pleasure of working with here at For The Love of The North. I’ve been in touch with Nat recently, chatting about all things art & design, inspiration, her favourite past projects and possible future ones. Keep reading to find out what Nat said!
Nat describes being a creative person for as long as she can remember - from sewing, painting and drawing, she’s always been attracted to the arts, though it wasn’t until A-levels when her love and appreciation for art really started. She expressed that she had a very inspirational art teacher who inspired her to look at the world through different eyes and introduced her to different styles, artists and mediums. When asked to describe her particular style, this is what she said “My style.. I think I’m still finding it really but most of my work uses simple bold colours and recently I’ve used a lot of rainbows!”
Since art is such a huge passion for Nat, it wasn’t surprising to learn that she’s earned a number of qualifications over the years including BA in Combined Arts from Newcastle and she even took evening classes at The National Glass Centre for over 15 years. “Recently, I’ve been doing online classes with glass masters which has been really inspiring, lots of new techniques and ideas to explore which has been influencing my work recently.”
I asked Nat where she finds her inspiration for all of her amazing pieces and she said “I’ve always loved Matisse’s paper cut outs for their colour and bold style, but I find influences come from everyday design objects, colour combinations, and of course Pinterest!”
For The Love of The North is, and will always be, an indie business dedicated to supporting local artists and creatives just like Nat. With that being said, it’s always important for us to learn about the artist's experience when working with smaller businesses like ourselves. Nat describes it as a pleasure, stating that every small business she works with brings fresh ideas and many of her products are a result of working with indie business owners who listen and understand their customer. Together they manage to produce products that people love! Safe to say that’s what we love most about working with local artists too.
We personally love all of Nat’s work and we stock an amazing range of her watercolour glass designs but I, of course, had to ask Nat what’s been her favourite project that she’s worked on so far, “Last year I created a garden installation which involved working with a local carpenter who made the frame and made and installed four transparent coloured swirls which were inspired by the heathers and colours in the garden. It was a joy to do and realise and is still looking great a year on.”
And to finally top it all off, I couldn’t let Nat go without asking her what her ultimate tourist tip is! We include a tourist tip with every order we send out, the aim is to give a little snippet of information for anyone travelling to the great North East, or to those who’re just looking for something new to do...here’s what Nat suggested, “For a great way to spend a Sunday, head down to Newcastle's Quayside with its many quality food stalls and artisan and craft stalls. Afterwards, you can walk over the Millennium Bridge to the Gateshead side and wander around Baltic and Sage for free, and finally... if you still have time, relax with a pint in the Hawkers Market.. Amazing!
Leave a comment