We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natasha Ragland. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natasha below.
Hi Natasha, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy to be a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
I feel that Art and Music are my life’s purpose, and those are the things I excel at, so that is what I chase after. What if I had to get a regular job? I contemplated the responsibilities of being a parent, but always chose not to go that route. I know that there’s only enough time to do the most important things, and for me, my creative pursuits were the loudest calling. But I choose to focus on the things that are going right in my life, and stay true to my life’s purpose. I took a class toward getting a school teaching credential, and observed some classrooms, taught 4 days as a substitute, and decided it wasn’t for me. The kids were such brats. I prefer to teach one on one. I have always made enough money to meet my needs doing things I enjoy, that I have never had to get a regular job. I am blessed to have a steady church gig which not only helps me keep up my piano chops, but reinforces my Faith in God and reminds me to count my blessings, and pray when I have problems that are overwhelming. I have just recently gotten another steady gig playing at Peking Wok Restaurant on Friday nights 5-8, which I’ve been wanting for years. That is where I have a chance to play secular music and enjoy the noisy atmosphere of people socializing. I used to want to have a restaurant when I was a teenager, and now I have the best of all worlds with the warm, friendly environment of comfort and food, and I get to play the music, and trigger people’s emotions. I cannot go anywhere and ignore the music that’s playing — it’s like a soundtrack to my life. I remember the song that is playing whenever I am having a certain experience. I love to practice music, and I try to carve out time to write tunes of my own when I have the house to myself. When I’m really excited about a new song I’m learning, I attempt to do a take off on it. I like to keep a new painting project on my easel at all times. My life kind of morphs into new locations because I have been driving to my students’ homes for lessons lately, and that gives me new sights which inspire my landscapes. I also love to paint animals, wild and domestic. My family took a trip to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole last September which was exciting. There are a couple of cows in Rainbow which I visit every day when I jog, and I get to spend time with them, observing their beautiful faces and bodies. That’s been a dream come true for me, to have access to farm animals in my neighborhood. There is also a herd of sheep in my route, which I see each day. The other day, I looked up, and there was a lamb sprawled over a log, unable to move. I jumped the fence and picked him up, and his leg was caught in the crack of the log, when I pulled it free, it was dangling limply. I didn’t know what to do, holding the sweet lamb in my arms, but I had my cell phone. I called my Dad, and he brought a couple pieces of wood he sanded and an ace bandage, and some duct tape, and he helped me put a splint on the lamb’s leg as I held him up over the fence. Then the lamb lurched out of my arms and hobbled over to his mom. I check for “Leedro” every day and he’s still up there with that splint on his leg. You can see the silver tape shining. It has been 3 weeks. I am so happy his leg looks like it’s getting stronger.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born into an artistic family, so it was a natural path for me from my earliest childhood. My parents indulged me and my sister in lessons and enrichment. We did ballet, gymnastics, piano, girl scouts, and we had a pony. I always had my priorities clearly in my mind that I wanted to be a songwriter, artist, recording artist, performer, and then teacher (in that order). I was able to study music as my major, and learn the fine tuning perfectionism from concert pianists Dr. Steven Gray and Dr. Peter Gach at Palomar College, Dorothy Griffith at Fullerton College, Professor Edith Hirshtal and Professor Mark Uranker, and voice from Marianne Bodnar at California State University at Long Beach. I learned about commercial harmony and songwriting from Professor Brent Pierce and Music Business with Alex Cima at Fullerton College, and film scoring from Perry La Marca at CSULB. I studied recording arts at Mira Costa College with Dave and Don Megill after I graduated with my Bachelors of Arts of Music at CSULB.
After 25 years of teaching piano and voice and playing steadily as a church house musician, I am now teaching older students (which is refreshing because adults want to learn). I have several of my paintings in Consign Design, Palm Desert, and I sell privately on occasion. After my college training, my education expanded in the area of sacred music, because of all my church gigs. Over the years, I have acquired a huge repertoire of sacred songs, and I have been learning the principles of painting and design from my dad as I continue to paint. I am dedicated to uplifting the spirit in all that I do, for example: the music that I choose to play has positive messages, the paintings that I create have optimism and fantasy. I like to emphasize the most beautiful qualities in my subjects and go for the timelessness. I like to present that individual or that place at its pinnacle of greatness. I am a non-violent person. My goal for everyone is wholeness and balance, and my goal for this planet is peace and veganism.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Even though there are millions of songs and pieces of music existing, I am always wanting something fresh to listen to. My goal is to contribute my share of music to the world library of music which makes you feel like dancing, makes you feel the majesty of God, or makes you feel Love from someone — or gives you motivation to keep trying to do your best. My mission in my art is to showcase the sweetness of farm animals so that people will fall in love with them and won’t want to eat them. I want to beautify the walls with art that stimulates the imagination. I want to capture the most thrilling moments of an experience and put it all together in one picture so that the colors and the shapes will bring those feelings and memories. I want to show the earth in its healthiest happiest state, so that people will be inspired to bring it back to its fullest potential and clean up all the devastation and pollution.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I was at a pivotal point in my life, my boyfriend was struggling financially because of the economic crash which caused the bank to suddenly end his construction loan, and demanded him to pay for his house in full immediately. He lost all his possessions, which he had accrued over his lifetime. His work was dwindling, and he was contemplating moving out of state. I got anxious about my future, and started looking into online dating. I was also feeling pressured by my family and other influences to consider the child-bearing issue. Long story short, I got quickly involved in a relationship with a guy I met online who turned out to be a pathological liar/criminal. I was foolish enough to share my passwords and financial information with him, and within 6 months, we had purchased a house together and planned a wedding. It all happened so fast, that I didn’t have a chance to listen to my internal screaming that this was wrong on every level. When my dog disappeared, my shed full of paintings suddenly was empty, my tires were flattened, and thousands of dollars had been drained from my bank account, my safety was in danger. Luckily my parents and some friends helped me out of this disastrous mess. My parents purchased the house and then convinced him to sign off the paperwork from the mortgage, and within one year, the nightmare came to an end. The police served the papers about my paintings, and they magically reappeared in the shed. I never saw my dog again, however, which was the biggest heartbreak for me of all. Besides all this, my 13 year relationship with my boyfriend was coming to an end in the physical presence, because he ended up moving up to Washington to get work. So my resilience is demonstrated in my current lifestyle of music and art, talking to my boyfriend on the phone every night, and a pretty fulfilling career. When people ask me how I got through it, I remember praying that I would choose it as it was, and I walked the tightrope of my thoughts, casting out negativity and focusing on the positive.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.RaglandFineArtsAtelier.com
Image Credits
Natasha Ragland with “Bronwyn and Timo in the Pasture” Natasha Ragland with “Pumpkins, Blue Glass, and Indian Corn” Natasha Ragland with “Giuseppi Francheska” Natasha Ragland with “Nativity #2” Natasha Ragland with “Wilt Road in Autumn” Natasha Ragland with “Saxophone with Peonies and Hibiscus” Natasha Ragland with “Trumpet with Peonies” Natasha Ragland with “Folklorico at the Mission” Natasha Ragland with Piano Purse made by Cousin Katrina