We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natalie Meyer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natalie below.
Natalie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
“The Book of S.H.E.” is an original art book that I curated and released in 2022. The Book of S.H.E., (acronym for Success, Heal and Emerge) is an artistic collection of my artwork using a combination of creative body paint and set designs with a focus on 10 local Edmonton female entrepreneurs and community builders who identify as BIPOC in my city. All models, photographers, makeup artists as well as myself, are local to Edmonton or Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In this book my readers can explore a multitude of ethnicities, journeys, local businesses and transformations of success and healing.
I had the pleasure of interviewing all these women with a list of questions surrounding their inspirations, their passions and businesses as well as their struggles and challenges. I asked them questions such as how do they define success, what is their biggest challenge as a BIPOC woman and what inspires them. Each story became an emotional connection for me to these women and from their conversations, I created individual “visual and artistic” stories through customized body paint designs based on the answers they gave me to the questions I asked. I have been blessed to put my brush onto these beautiful living canvases, creating 10 unique body paints that captured and told each woman’s individual story of success, healing and emergence. In their photos I have hidden links to their heritage, their inspirations, their stories and their successes. These hidden gems can be found in their body paint, their posture and their surroundings.
Being a BIPOC woman myself, my goal has always been to push the boundaries for better representation of women and especially women of color in our arts community. I love the cultural diversity in our city and wanted to showcase this by putting the spotlight on female entrepreneurs and community builders who identify as BIPOC by using my artistic talents and skills to tell the story of the successes we have had here in our own city and province. I have always been motivated by three major subjects in all of my work. The human body, culture and tradition, and music or movement and this project in particular aimed to connect with young women of color who could finally see representation of women who are not only successful and beautiful, but also see the struggles that are part of life’s journey. To be able to see the connection that young women have had with my book has truly been life changing.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Natalie Meyer, also known as @IndahbyNatalie on many platforms. I am an emerging Multidisciplinary Visual Artist from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; painter, body painter, cinematographer, drone operator and art educator. Art has always played a significant part in my life since childhood. My father and my older sister were both very artistic while I was growing up and it was only natural that I followed suit. Starting as a child with oil paints, there was an immediate love for the arts and I progressed by dabbling in other mediums such as graphite, charcoal, watercolor. and acrylic paints. I eventually went to MacEwan College in Edmonton taking up Graphic Design, however, the design aspect of sitting in front of a computer to do art was not my thing and I quickly lost passion after working in the field for only two years.
My artwork takes an artistic, in-depth look at culture, tradition and storytelling, mostly through Women of Color. Although I am known mostly for acrylic portraiture, I have been successful with body painting through channels such as live body painting, photography, documentary feature as well as collaboration. I have been working with several established organizations over the last few years, having opportunities to educate youth on the importance of the arts, creating arts and using art as a channel/outlet for positive mental health. I have worked with Black youth with the Africa Centre for 2 years for their ARTeMo project as well as JUBE School that focuses on bringing awareness to the arts in our young communities, including youth with learning disabilities or at risk youth.
After putting away art for many years, around 10-12 years I believe, I fell into a dark part of life and needed to find a way out. Regenerating my passion happened on a trip to the mountains in Jasper, Alberta where I sat lakeside on a dock with nothing but serenity, crystal clear water and a slight breeze through the trees to inspire my love for art. Sketching for a whole afternoon on the dock that day was the ignition to my rekindled art journey. Now, mostly known for painting Women of Color on traditional canvas, I am also one of few in my city who creates art on “living canvas” or the human body. My aim is to represent visible minorities in all of my work whether it be in fine art, body paint or through my lens. Being an Indonesian-Canadian woman, I am influenced heavily by culture, storytelling and the beauty of the human body. The biggest goal of all my artwork is to tell the stories of the subjects I have chosen to feature, giving the world a deeper look at the beauty of the subject from a different angle. To empower, to inspire and to create out of the box art are my main focus in my artistic journey. The Indonesian name “Indah” translates into “Beautiful” in English.
My recent film career behind the lens over the past 3 years has flourished in several music videos within the hip hop and R&B genre, drone promos, business/event promos, multiple documentary films and two televised docu-series’. So far, all of my documentary projects have focused on People of Color, education and documenting local Edmonton history. Most of my film work can be found on my YouTube channel or on TELUS Optik TV which is broadcast in Western Canada. More recently over the past 3-4 years I have immersed my development in the film industry, acting mostly as Director of Photography, Camera Operator, Drone Operator, Producer and Colorist, working alongside my partner Arlo Maverick. As this is a more recent venture, I am still in development stage in film however I have been successful in playing major roles in the production and editing in 6 documentaries, several music videos, virtual performances and promotional videos.
More recently, competing in the World Bodypainting Festival held in Austria, but competing online, I was thrilled to receive a 39th and 23rd placing in the world for the 2-day competition, being only one of 2 Canadian competitors for the online competition.
I have been blessed to be featured in various publications and media such as EDIFY Magazine, CBC Radio One, CBC News, Edmonton Journal, TELUS Optik, CKUA Radio as well as Cool Jobs and What’s Your Hustle Podcasts. I also had an incredible opportunity to be sponsored by the Scotiabank Women’s Initiative for hosting my book and soft launch of my documentary “The Book of S.H.E.” at a VIP Cineplex Odeon theatre in December 2022.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My major inspirations stem from culture, storytelling and the human body. These elements can be found in all the art I create. My love for the arts runs in many mediums, however, body paint and film have been my main focus over the past three years. I am currently in the process of exploring and developing my skills in textiles to advance my artistic development by stepping out of the box to create a full sensory experience for those who enjoy my work. The art of storytelling, exploration and inspiring others to create, especially within the BIPOC community and cultural beauty of women is what drives me. My passion to break boundaries and step out of the box artistically is a personal goal I strive for with each project I make and I am fascinated with learning the traditions and cultural components of the people I surround myself with, to inspire new creative artworks.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being an artist or creative is being able to connect with and inspire young People of Color. Having opportunities to educate youth through the arts, as well as seeing students and those who I work with, transform into confident, inspired beings is a reward that can’t be described. When I see doubt and lack of confidence in their eyes and then watch that doubt dissipate through trusting the process of the arts, finally watching a light ignite in their eyes at the end, there is no word to describe the inspiration and excitement that I feel at that moment. This applies not only to youth art education but also to the interviews I film, the paintings I create, the photos I take and the body paint that I paint. It is truly a transformation that could only be the result of the beauty of art! It is a universal language that is able to touch people in a way that most others can’t and I feel blessed to be able to share my gifts with those around me. Being able to share intimate moments with my models by painting on their “living canvases” is a blessing and an honour. I absolutely love what I do.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indahbynatalie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indahbynatalie/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@indahbynatalie?si=hUpmusqs10ZqIfo6
Image Credits
photo 1 photographer Aaron Pedersen, model Cherelle George photo 2 photographer Aaron Pedersen, model Crystal Lightning photo 3 photographer Aaron Pedersen, model Priya Narayan photo 4 screenshot of The Book of S.H.E. documentary model Cherelle George photo 5 photographer Amal Abukar, model Jasmine Duncan photo 6 photographer Aaron Pedersen, model Natalie Meyer photo 7 photographer Edmonton Journal, models Bert Richards & Natalie Meyer photo 8 photographer SamJay of NowLyve Digital, in photo Arlo Maverick & Natalie Meyer photo 9 photographer SamJay of NowLyve Digital