Welcome to the brand new Artist Spotlight Series!

In each post, you will discover the fascinating stories of different artists, exploring their creative journeys and the art they bring to life.

Stay tuned for these inspiring interviews, where each story promises to be as unique and captivating as the art itself.

NATALIE  DADAMIO

 

 

1. Share a bit about you and how you became an artist.   

 

As a child, I can remember always being dreamy, sensitive, and emotional with a wild imagination. My childhood was rough, I can remember different points and times in my life from childhood and on where Art was always coming in and out of my life. I had the love for it, but I really did give up on myself a lot. It would come in and out of my life at different periods of times, and I even went to experimental film school in college and graduated with a Bachelors in Cinema, which was/is highly artistic.

 

So Art was always peeking in and out. I have one of those classic stories of being a locked up Artist for so long, someone who had all the supplies, but wasn’t really creating. I think my desire was always thwarted by the challenges in my life. 

But after a rather hard period in my life, when I was 38 years old, I returned to Art Making quite intensely, and I haven’t stopped since that door swung wide open.

 

I had to move through many emotional waters in life, it’s been a hard and challenging journey, when I stepped on the healing path in 2010, I would have never imagined that would lead to my Artist returning.

There have been many challenges to return to that little girl and her wild dreamy wide open heart and imagination, for me Art Making has been a way to reclaim all that was lost long ago, to heal, to recover, to receive and remember.

 

Nowadays Art is my sanctuary, a sacred healing ground. I love showing and sharing the process and helping to inspire others to open to their own creative heart and potential. I have a very soulful and deep connection to all I do and shine through. It has taken me a little longer to come out of myself, and Art Making has been a really key ingredient in learning how to use my voice, find my personal power and connect more deeply with myself.

 
 

 

 

 

 
Artist: Natalie Dadamio, USA
 

 

 
 

Artists who born and raised in different countries, how do  

those experiences influence your art?  

 

I was born and raised in Binghamton, New York and as I got older, I didn’t move that far from where I grew up, so I have lived in the Southern Tier Region of Upstate New York my whole life.
In regards to living in the area there are certain areas that I feel connected to in this region, where they seem like distant memories from lifetimes long ago.
 

As a child, when I was sad, I would always go to the banks of the river to let out my emotions, in a park called Otsiningo on the banks of the Susquehanna River. When I was younger I didn’t think much of it, but later on, I realized something higher than me was leading me there to help me cope, to grieve, to heal.
 

I now see certain places I am drawn to in this area and surrounding areas in Upstate New York, linked to this higher connection and creation of the web of life.

 

The interconnectedness of all things. This doesn’t become a literal representation in my art work, but it does come through in the abstract thinking and ideas and the way I assemble images through the memories of time. The way color, line, shape and form take hold and create their own inner connections. 

I am very much influenced by the energy of a place, an it’s more ethereal and abstract than anything hence my love for creating abstract artwork!
 

 

 

"Our Will Wind" by Natalie Dadamio, USA

 
 

 

   

your work aim to say?  

 
I am predominantly a mixed media abstract artist working in acrylic. My art is emotional, I definitely don't shy away from my emotions in my work. I have to have mixed media in my work, I love a good scribble, the way materials feel. I enjoy the tactile nature of the way collage and pastels create different kinds of mark making and add and enhance a piece in the process. I love the raw, expressive and wild freedom that leans to creating bright and colorful abstractions.
 

I rely a lot on my intuition, heart and poetic soul to construct the artworks. I am really open to a lot of different sensibilities and sensitivities when I enter the studio. I allow everything to fall away and just try to come into the present moment as much as possible. Through color, line, shape and forms, I create images that devry from other worlds. I rely on that deep inner knowing to carry me forward and I am most interested in expressing all the sides, opening up to more and more freedom in the process.
 
 

 

 

 

" Secret Language Between Souls" by Natalie Dadamio, USA

 

  

   

4. Who are your biggest influences?  

 
There are so many influences but some of my main influences and inspirations from the past are: Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell, Hilma af Klint, Joan Miro, Jean Michell Basquiat & Cy Twombly.
 
For my inspirations and influences, what they all have in common they were very true to themselves, it’s not so much I am taking any one technique or making similar work, it is just that I admire certain aspects of their work and how they relentlessly pursued the work they wanted to create. It’s all very different, unique and individual work. Something I strive to do in my own work is stay truest to the expressions coming through.
 

 

 
 

5. How has your career developed and evolved? 

 

I went to Film school and have a Bachelors in Cinema. It was a very avant-garde and experimental program. Not for the faint of heart! So although I didn’t get an MFA, did go to school for something Art related and that time and period in my life actually influences my painting practice and the way I experiment with my process in the studio to this day.

 

Painting is something that came back to me after a really few hard years, I was actually going through a spiritual crisis/emergence – and loss of identity, at the time I found painting.

 

I had found an online program called the Creative Visionary Program in 2018 with Artist and Teacher Nicholas Wilton. For me that was a big part of where all my technical learning comes from. As well as just having a very intense and intuitive nature – but I do attribute that program to being a big reason of why I am making Art today. It’s one of those things where it appeared at the right time in my life. I also continue to learn and unlearn along the way.

 

One of the biggest things for my own personal growth was doing the 100 day project for several years in a row – I am on my 5th 100 day project this year in 2024 – I have had so much growth when I attempt d a project like that. I am always trying to learn from people who I feel in resonance with, and I try to balance learning from others and my own experimentation and learning.

 

If I am being honest, I have yet to still meet some of my Art goals. I would like Gallery representation, but I have yet to have success in that area. I would dream of teaching international and out of state art retreat type workshops and traveling around the world spreading the gift of colorful creative arts.

 

I feel like I am expanding this year into more and more, and the difference is that I feel confident in myself and the work I am doing, I cant say I always felt confident internally in the past like the way I do now – its been quite the journey for me, as I had a lot of hurdles to move through, but you know its all part of my Art story and Art journey, so I am just grateful to not give up on myself and to keep going, even when its challenging. I am determined to found my way!

 
 

 

 " Rush" by Natalie Dadamio, USA

  

 

 

6. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years? 

    

In the last couple years I have been a guest teacher and participated in creating online art courses that have been hosted through other Artists online platforms, which really has kicked off my love and excitement for teaching and boosted my confidence a lot!

In 2024, I actually started to teach live art classes in my local area.
And currently I am working on creating my own online classes to be hosted on my own online learning platform. So I am definitely looking forward to expanding my skill set and growing into the gifts I have to offer not just as an Artist but as a Teacher and Guide.

I am still pursuing how to get my Art seen in more and more places, and will continue the push to deliver my Art. I am scheduled to have a one month long Artist Residency coming up this Summer in July 2024 via my local arts council, the Broome County Arts Council.
 
I am just looking forward to expanding in all areas and growing my Art career and business into something that I can really be proud of.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

7. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as an 

artist? 

    

You know one thing I am proud of is I never compromised the Art I wanted to make or how I saw it coming together, even before I could execute it to the level I would like to be able to. In the earlier years, I was really struggling and sometimes would have lower lows then I do now. I almost quit several times within the last six years, due to various reasons in life and my thoughts and feelings around things.

 

The best piece of advice I received was from a dear friend, who had said I have to decide what kind of Art and Artist I wanted to be, and by deciding who and what I wanted to be, well it meant perhaps that it would take me a little longer. The question was did I want to stay true to the Art I was making or Did I just want to try and follow trends?

 

And to realize if I followed trends, I might have success faster, but what would make me happiest most?

 

In the end the advice was to realize if you are going to stay true to your heart, your art and your creations, then you are going to have to plan for the long game. And that is what I have been doing and continue to do. Over the years more and more opens up, and I have seen my inner light, strength and confidence grow from making that decision.

 
 
 
 

 

I try to find the right balance between studio time/working on the administrative side of my Art business and also going to events in town. I am a member of a local Cooperative Gallery, so that keeps me pretty involved. I would have to admit that a lot of my extracurricular activities and social circle, still involves a lot of Art related events and interests.

 

Art is just in my blood, who I am and what I do. Over the last year and a half I really have been expanding my practice and business, growing it into the community, which has been nice. It’s nice to be able to give back and see the way other people get inspired through the process of Art.

9. How do you balance social media and your art creation? 

 
 

 Right now I am not doing so well because I am doing the 100 day project on Instagram, and have been posting everyday so far for 67 days (at the time of writing this). For me social media has changed a lot over the years, and I actually struggle to use the new model on IG – I have been turning to YouTube more and more as I like longer format video and it seems more rewarding.

 

I would like to be able to figure out the new model on IG, but I haven’t quite figured out how to best make it work for me since they brought through all the changes. So it can be a little disheartening at times the whole social media venture, but I know it is possible to execute.

It’s just finding the best way that feels best for me, is what I am looking for more and more. Whats helped for me is only focusing on a few things that are most interesting instead of spreading myself to thin.          

you?

    

 

My favorite quote is - "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompson

Life and Art can be strange/weird – challenging at times – some days you don’t know you are coming or going – this quote reminds me that as weird as it gets, I can handle anything in art and/or life.

That its okay to celebrate our uniqueness and what makes us special in art and life and to keep doing it your own way, because that is the only way to be in art and life!

 

 

 

 

My work can be purchased and seen via my website at nataliedadamio.com

I am always sharing my process and practice on Instagram and YouTube – my Instagram handle is @natalie.dadamio.art and you can find videos of me talking about art making process and deep soulful and heartfelt ideas on You Tube by searching Natalie Dadamio Art.

 

 

 

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