We recently connected with Wyatt Nestor-Pasicznyk and have shared our conversation below.

Wyatt, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

So I started out in college as a painting and illustration major. I ended up transferring schools to Tyler School of Art and that’s when I began taking more diverse classes within their curriculum and it led me to taking a Jewelry 1 class. I was months away from graduating from the program as a painting major but I needed a credit in another studio class to graduate. I ended up taking that Jewelry 1 class, loving it and finally feeling a sense of direction in what I wanted to be making and knew I needed to switch majors. I then spent 3 years completing my BFA in Metals, Jewelry CAD CAM and with the guidance from all of my professors and grad students, became very dedicated to making this into my career. During my time in this undergrad program, two of my instructors exposed me to the world of Craft Schools. During my senior thesis year I began looking into programs at Craft Schools, unsure of where it would lead me but interested in finding out. With graduation on the horizon I applied to an assistantship program straight out of college along with a few metals focused jobs. Unfortunately I was having a lot of medical issues that year and had to have a very intense surgery which left me with unexpected complications surrounding my mobility. I was not in a great place after that and after finding out I didn’t receive the assistantship. Though looking back now it was for the best and I’m glad everything went the way it did. That summer and fall I focused on working for a production company in Philly, making enameled pins and badges, while taking time to go to physical therapy 3 times a week to get my mobility back on track. It was a difficult time but this led me to apply to a fall residency at Peters Valley School of Craft. I received the residency and quit working for the production company. This was the beginning of where my life drastically started to change for the better. I was only at Peters Valley for 2 weeks in the fall of 2021, but this time gave me a chance to make my work, find out what I wanted my work outside of college without guidance from a program would look like. There was a sense of community there that I loved, and I was able to take things slow, familiarize myself with a different metals studio and learn from the Artist Fellow and other Metals Resident. When the opportunity arose in the following spring I applied for the assistantship again, though this time with a better idea of the place, people and space. I used all of the pieces I made during my residency period there to apply and received the assistantship! Working at a place like Peters Valley for the summer offered an amazing amount of growth to my skillset as a jeweler. I was mentored by the Artist Fellow and was able to assist visiting instructors and students while assisting in shop maintenance, repairs and dedicating time to work on my own work. At the end of the season I returned back home to work for a Living History Farm, as my other main passion in life is farming and agriculture. During the fall and winter I prepared to apply as the Artist Fellow to run the studio space. This past year 2023, I ran the Fine Metals studio as their Artist Fellow. I am forever grateful for this experience as it connected me with so many artists, instructors and even helped me make connections to teach at other craft schools which I got to do this past year.

A major obstacle has been my health and ongoing series of surgeries which have limited the opportunities available to me. I will say that I am happy with the pacing of everything in my career and the time it took me to get to where I am even with all the medical issues I’ve faced. I’m extremely thankful for the patience and support I have received in my career even due to these setbacks.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Wyatt Nestor-Pasicznyk or Wyatt NP and online I go by That Belt Buckle Guy. And I mainly make belt buckles focused on themes within agriculture, folklore and horsemanship. The culture of farming and agriculture is commonly thought of as something reserved for conservative, cisgender, white, heterosexual people. Growing up in a small rural town, working with horses my whole life and participating in FFA and 4H, farming and agriculture grounded me. For me, fabricating these pieces is not only my livelihood but also a way to exist between the worlds of the farming and ranching culture who admire my work for its imagery and the queer individuals that guided me through the early stages of my transition.

I learned enameling as part of a Color in Metals class that I took as a metalsmithing major in college. After taking that class it really cemented the processes and type of work I enjoy making. The majority of my pieces are done through a process called Champleve enameling, where vitreous glass enamel is laid into recessed areas on copper, silver or gold, fired in a kiln and then the process is repeated until the glass is flush with the metal. Then the surface is smoothed out and stoned down either with diamond hand pads or an alundum stone to even out the glass, re-fired and then polished. All of my designs I draw by hand in my sketchbook and then refine in a drawing program with a tablet. I then scale them to the size I want the real life object to be in a 3D modeling program called Rhino. They’re then printed on this heat transfer paper that’s typically used for circuit board etching. After the design is transferred onto the copper I’m able to etch them in ferric chloride anywhere from 5-12 hours. The ink acts as a resist, leaving those areas raised and the exposed areas etched away by the acid. After everything is etched, filed, sanded and prepped I’m ready to get to laying the color in.

I primarily make belt buckles and bolo ties using this process as both types of jewelry are a large part of my identity as a farmer, and agricultural enthusiast. While belt buckles can be a flashy addition to an outfit it can also be a signal to those who are in agricultural communities that you are like them as well. There is a sense of commonality that can be found in sharing different types of spaces with different types of people. My pieces find themselves belonging to a vast variety of people, from western influencers, ranchers, hobbyist farmers and ag enthusiasts to jewelry collectors who are queer, or LGBT people living in cities who hold a nostalgia for the type of pieces I create. By wearing this piece it could be an entry into a country and western bar you’ve been longing to go to but have been worried about being picked out of the crowd for your differences. It could also be a piece worn to a rodeo to have a fun night among friends.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Personally I love the freedom of it all. I’m able to rely on myself and make exactly what I want to be making for others to enjoy. Fabricating my own pieces is so much more freeing than working for a company, making their pieces and having no creative freedom in it. Doing production work for others taught me invaluable skills that I now use in making my own work full time. There are always times when business is slow and I have less commissions than usual, but I use that as a time to start developing new ideas for production work and pieces that I want to do a run of for inventory. This past year I participated in two craft fairs and that really opened my eyes to another world of making and presenting your work to an audience. Being able to be in spaces filled with other makers whether it’s a craft fair, craft school or conference revitalize my passion for making. It comes down to connecting with people through art, and the practices of craft that can be shared.

It can definitely be overwhelming and scary at times as an artist earning a living in a world so driven by commodification, fast fashion, AI and mass produced objects. The majority of my friends, colleagues and family value handmade objects over commodification. And for me that’s a very important part of my practice and who I am. Everything I do and the hobbies and careers I’ve had all feel like a part of the past, but to me they’re worth continuing on and preserving. I apprenticed as a farrier shoeing horses for 2 years after college, while applying to residencies and metals focused jobs. I’ve always worked with horses in some capacity, as I used to ride and compete as a child and young adult. Farrier work made me appreciate the time, strength, knowledge and skills that are still used in the 21st century to care for horses. When I’m not focused on my artistic career I work at a Living History Farm that operates in the fashion of a farm from the 1900s. Everything is done either by hand or with a team of horses. There is simplicity in this that I love, and it makes one feel more self-reliant and less dependent on society when you learn how things are done and to do it yourself.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I’ve had a fair amount of set backs in my life, especially when it comes to having the same opportunities most people have available to them after graduating from a program. I’ve had a very complicated medical history and had 3 surgeries while in my program at Tyler as I completed my undergraduate degree. Following my graduation, that summer I had 3 more surgeries and ended up having to take a lot of time to recover both physically and mentally. Luckily this time allowed me to draw a lot, plan new designs and begin thinking about what options were available to me. This time in recovery really helped me prioritize what was important to me in my career and where I wanted to go with my degree. Applying for and receiving seasonal employment at a craft school was really a blessing as it allowed me to work in my field and concentrate on my career for 6-10 months and then take the off season to focus on my health and remaining surgeries. As someone who is only 25, it has been difficult taking it slow and dedicating time to my health when all of my friends, peers and colleagues are able to pursue their careers without having to block out time to have surgery every few months. I’m really thankful for my wonderful surgical team and all that they have done for me and that I’m healthy, healed and that all of this is behind me now.

Contact Info:

• Website: wyattnp.com
• Instagram: thatbeltbuckleguy
• Linkedin: Wyatt Nestor-Pasicznyk
• Other: Tiktok: thatbeltbuckleguy