Some people collect memorabilia, some collect friends, still others collect experiences. Natale collects ideas and turns them into things. A prolific writer, producer and visual artist, Natale is the creator of more than 28 individual pieces of work: from documentary films to books (some under a nom de plume) to Facebook groups set up to advance ideas about family, holidays, travel and food. 

 

If you are one of the rare people who gets to meet Natale in person, you’ll find her a fascinating mix of stunning creativity peppered with small amounts of bravado, an obvious kind heart and one of those rare artists who can easily draw their boundaries and stick to them. She knows that her creations, like all great ideas, are precious things that must be protected from the ill-informed, the jaded or worse, the skeptical fool. Her creations are literally manifestations of her multiple dimensions as a human being, as a mother, as an artist, but more to the point, as an observer.  While her creations are infused with humanity, there isn’t a lot of syrupy sentimentality or naive angst in her work. Natale is refreshingly honest, but equally as vulnerable. This lends an air of agelessness to her. Admittedly a Francophile with a keen interest in pre-war Paris, Natale’s personal style feels timeless. Think French Vogue meets the Mad Hatter Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland.

 

In recent years Natale has withdrawn from more public life, in favor of concentrating on an artist's life as well as being a mother at a time of significant unrest in America. Her own childhood was a story of contrast. Up until this point it was really okay and fantastic.

 

Natale’s mother is Puerto Rican. Other kids told her that she was denying her Mexican heritage and ridiculed her for knowing nothing about Mexican food or culture. Kids would see her mother pick her up from school and ask blunt accusatory questions like “what are you?” 

 

“I think that it's important that whenever something is communicated about my identity that the Latino aspect is included. Although I’ve had very conflicted experiences because I am so fair. There’s been the imposter syndrome associated with that. Living in Spain and learning about my heritage and the Puerto Rican diaspora helped me gain clarity about where I come from.” 

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Her favorite childhood pastime was, quite obviously: reading. Reflective of her personality, Natale chose authors and subjects both different and strange in ways that are fascinating both in terms of darkness and light. 

 

Her regimented upbringing fueled her imagination and her hunger for intelligent rebellion which she found in the characters and stories she was attracted to.  She could often be found hiding in a closet or bathroom engrossed in a book. Quite like the classic story, Alice in Wonderland, her mind is constantly pulling things from the ethers in a fashion that resembles the childlike curiosity of Alice and the eclectic, unconventional manner of the MadHatter. 

 

Natale always knew she’d be an author herself. She attributes this to two things: her love for the typewriter (she collects antique ones) and her love of a story.  Her ability to live a creative life is envious. 

 

When asked about the first book that made her cry, she responds “Where the Red Fern Grows, scarred me for life. I’m very sensitive and empathic, but you know, you could kill a hundred adults and if a dog dies, I’m a wreck. Aliens can be blowing up whatever and some kid is in danger and I’m like, ‘what happened to the dog!’ I don’t want the alien to eat the dog!”

 

I ask her how she knew she was ‘creative.’ She laughs and answers, “I think you repeatedly hear ‘that’s creative,’ or ‘let’s bring that back down to earth here,’ and you get a sense of how you are perceived by others. I was in ballet, I was in violin, in creative pursuits. There was no mastery!”  She tries to admit in one of those sparkly moments of self-effacing criticism that reveals a deeper nature. “I don’t know how to play well, so I torture people. I have two guitars and a piano. I make my kids take piano lessons and they both have their own guitars.

 

As for her ‘creative process,’ first, she’s attuned to see the final product. “I’m a very pen to paper person, I’ll write out the list or notes to accomplish it, I’m constantly in the creative process. From the moment I open my eyes I’m in ‘the mode,’ I’m jotting notes down on pieces of paper or putting them in my phone, there’s a lot of ‘sending ships out into the world,’ I email myself and text myself ideas. 

 

Currently in the works is a television project, a sequel to a previous novel, and three children’s books as well as unique funding mechanisms that can bring art to the world in a more expeditious manner.

 

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