We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalie Plociennik a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I enrolled in a two-year Fine Arts Studio Program at Centennial College where I learned a variety of traditional art techniques and established strong professional practices. However, developing my unique style and vision took me years of paying attention to the strange and authentic patterns in my creations and exploring my innate obsessions and curiosities. Throughout this process, I formed key mentor relationships and became part of a symbiotic studio community that still supports my growth today.

An essential skill I learned early on was the importance of receiving critical feedback. By embracing feedback, I was able to view my artwork more objectively and better understand how my audience experiences my work. In the past, being sensitive and defensive about my work led to sugar-coated or even dishonest feedback, which hindered my creative development. However, I developed a strong creative voice to communicate my direction to my critics, which helped them guide me better. Seeking feedback from artists I respect has been invaluable, and their support has made me feel limitless.

Although I’ve studied engineering, sciences, languages, and arts, I never thought about business until I entered the world of fine arts. As a result, I struggled to understand how to sell my artwork, which is especially challenging in the fine arts industry. It took a great deal of personal development as an artist to confidently showcase and sell my work. To sell my work successfully, I realized the importance of understanding how to make my audience happy while remaining true to my originality and reaching my niche market. To overcome this obstacle, I am learning from established artists in the industry and developing my own strategies for reaching my target market. In retrospect, I wish I had taken the time to learn more about the business side of art earlier in my career.

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

I am a surreal artist that paints biomorphic utopias and whimsical environmental conundrums. Imagine fantastical landscapes made of voluptuous organic forms that envelop you like a comforting cocoon. I would live in them if I could!! Growing up, I developed a fear of sharp objects due to my propensity for bruising and feeling vulnerable in urban environments. My imagination always contrasts the sterile flatness of technology and the utilitarian nature of commercialized objects and structures. Ultimately, my creative vision is about expressing safety, comfort, and love through tangible forms.

The first inklings of my practice began in my high school agenda as surreal doodles with a Pilot pen. I never paid much attention to them, until later on when I decided to go back to school again for a creative change. I received formal training in the arts, developed mentor relationships, and continued working on improving myself and my techniques in acrylic and oil media. Throughout this period I had been exhibiting my work in Toronto in art fairs, cafes, markets, and galleries, all the while learning and adapting to how people respond to my work.

I now have a more defined professional practice where I continue to create, exhibit and sell paintings. I also provide custom commissions to capture my client’s story in a biomorphic world suited to their home environment. This way I can remain authentic and original in my creations while increasing the value I can provide to my audience. The problem my work solves isn’t direct or consistent, rather it is a feeling I can capture in my paintings and bring a unique and personal sense of beauty into someone’s life.

What sets me apart is my unique style, conceptual flexibility and technical approach to developing imagery. My work has recognizable and consistent motifs such as fractal patterns, reflective orbs, tangible depth, vibrant colour, sensual forms and playful perspectives and environments. I am able to construct imagery of various themes, colours and subjects, so working with clients is a fun and meaningful experience. I am also often setting aside some time to research, develop and receive mentorship on my approaches so that I can eventually become a master of my practice.

I’m super proud to have had a recent international representation and exhibition in Manhattan, NYC at the Agora Gallery. I am also thrilled to be showcasing my work independently this April in the Artist Project at the Exhibition Place in Toronto! If you’re in town, I would love to show you a personal tour :)

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I feel that some non-creatives don’t understand what drives creative people to continue their work despite the rejections, poor results and responses. It’s not mainly a practical pursuit. What gets me through these immense struggles is the unquantifiable joy, safety, and awe I feel in the zone. I feel blessed to be standing with the generations of knowledge and techniques passed down through art history. To think that I can build on a part of that and potentially create a legacy of my own that others can continue from – it is a deep spiritual fulfillment.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

Nfts suck the life out of physical creations, so does collecting art for only the purpose of ownership. My practice is a physical experience, with real paint and delicious texture – my time and heart put into mixing each colour and delivering each stroke. It can only be truly appreciated in person. An image of it is one-dimensional. Digitizing my work would be the difference between receiving a one-word text and an in-person discussion. The exception I have for NFTs, is if they’re used to accompany a physical work and help with artists receiving a cut every time their work is sold to the next buyer. That is mint, pun intended.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.natalie.gallery
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliegallery/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NatalieArtGallery/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliegallery/

Image Credits
Image credits – Agora Gallery, NYC Miqdaad Fatakdawala