Today we’d like to introduce you to Natasha Sanchez.
Hi Natasha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a photographic artist, songwriter, performer, producer & educator. My artistic journey began around the turn of the century. As a self-taught artist, I learned the basics of photography and the camera by working at a photo lab in the darkroom. The lab not only gave me experience in photographic fundamentals and creativity, but it also opened me up to photography as a profession. My days off I spent driving around small towns and shooting landscapes and rural scenes. I had my own darkroom at home, so I began to experiment with different methods. I eventually became immersed in lumen printing, a cameraless photo process. At the same time, I was learning guitar and found it was much easier to write my own songs than it was to learn someone else’s! To that end, I learned again by experience, on my own, and through friends and family, and eventually put together an act. My first performances were comedy open mics which later led to one-woman shows with my photos and music. Many years and miles down the road I found myself on a World Tour, traveling the world around me, taking photographs of mostly rural landscapes, and writing songs about my experiences. I brought these songs & stories to an open mic and later ended up hosting it and a Songwriter Circle in New Orleans, which is where I met singer/songwriter and Ohio native Sarah Dupee. I heard her play one night and tracked her down for the next Songwriter event. We became friends and now collaborators. After moving back to Cincinnati, she contacted me about doing the cover art for her EP, Cypress Island.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Being an artist with multiple mediums definitely comes with challenges, but I like to think each form has the same message. I think I am just communicating my thoughts and visions in hopes of reaching someone who may feel a connection or inspiration from it. There have been many obstacles along the way, Hurricane Katrina, the pandemic. Each event allowed me to re-envision a new path. Prior to Katrina, I was focused on portraiture, I then switched to fine art, social commentary, and nature scenes, and writing songs and performance pieces. I taught photography as a photowalk workshop for 10 years prior to the pandemic as well as lumen & cyanotype workshops with my series “Sun Print Sundays”. Post-pandemic I still teach the lumen print workshops but also still rethinking my next path, for now, I’m just doing a little bit of everything and seeing where it all takes me.
It should be noted too, though, that the challenge of practicing different art forms also has its benefits as in the case with Sarah, whom I met in the music world, but my part of our collaborations focus on my photographic world. These collaborations are rooted in cypress, a common link in our work and in our two parts of the world. We are working on multimedia adventures as I’m experimenting with video now. Being multidimensional and facing obstacles opens you up to more opportunities, more creativity, and collaborations. It’s important to move along with the challenges and pay attention to the road.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My specialty is lumen printing, a solar printing process and one of the first printing techniques, used an experiment when early photographic pioneers were testing light-sensitive paper. I use it as a form of expression and experimentation. My lumen work in featured in hospitals, healing spaces, something I’m really happy about and I’m interested in connecting with more. I’m vastly inspired by the world, just as it is, and I like to communicate what I see by either by printing, photographing, or writing a song about what I see in the world around me. I’m also known for traveling without borders – I tend to find more parallels than divisions in the world, similar to the cypress connection with Sarah.
My latest solo project is also something I’m really happy and excited about. It’s called “Flip the Switch – illuminating the Power of Nature”. It’s a sunlit installation series of unfixed hand-tinted lumen prints that are illuminated by the sun. I’ve been doing the installations in public spaces to highlight the power of working with nature, which includes our own inner nature. I love creating spaces for artistic expression so there has been a community involvement either through workshops where people can create their own sun prints or through performances with other singer-songwriters. I also photograph the same prints in different locations, I recently took the Fall series to Cincinnati where I photographed them against the Ohio landscape.
I think it’s my perspective on things that is probably what sets me apart from others. I don’t know many people who love the DMV as much as I do (that’s a story for another time, haha).
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
As far as where I see the industry going in the next 5 – 10 years, from the onset photography has been an evolving practice in constant motion. Which is funny that I’ve gone back in time with the camera-less process, but it’s a testament to the power of art and the powerful role it plays in our society. I’ll keep adapting as the times change. Coming up I’ll have my own EP coming out later in the year and I’m always seeking new places and faces that may benefit from my work. I love commissions and collaborations and I love creating collective spaces for artistic expression.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.natashasanchezcreates.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natashasanchez.creates/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashasanchez.creates
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NS_Creates
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@natashasanchez.creates
Image Credits
Natasha Sanchez
Dave Crowley
