Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Macellaio.
Hi Natalie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started working in metals in high school in the suburbs of Chicago. From a young age I was lucky enough to find something that has held my interest for all of these years! I moved to Texas for graduate school at the University of North Texas to complete an MFA in the Jewelry and Metalsmithing program. I graduated and began teaching at the local community colleges around the DFW area, finally landing at Brookhaven College and becoming a 3D studio tech and then full time Sculpture faculty. Teaching as allowed me to continue my interest in metals as well as a lot of other materials and technologies. I love learning about 3D printing, scanning, CNC routing, UV printers, etc. I am also inspired by working with my students and fellow faculty members. Making art can be an isolating endeavor and being a part of a community is important to keep me motivated and supported in this field.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There are always obstacles when you decide to follow a passion, the question is, does that obstacle stop you and move you into another direction or do you push through? I think the hardest time I had was when I had my twins. Although it was the most wonderful and amazing experience, I wasn’t sure how to navigate being a new mom and be an artist as both things take up a lot of time and energy. I didn’t have a road map for what came next. Luckily, I had the support of close friends who were also going through the same thing, we created our own support group and reached out to others. We (Lesli Robertson and I) created “The Motherload” where we reached out to mothers/artists around the world to talk about how they balance being an artist and a mother. This project went on for 7 years and traveled to the Dallas Museum of Art and to Dundee Scotland! I came to realize that my artistic practice was still there but in a new form. Art making looked a little different in terms of being more collaborative and less alone in a studio. It was one of the most excited and exhausting times in my art-making career so far.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work focuses attention on the mundane, the peripheral, and the ignored elements of our built environment–materials and forms so ubiquitous they often escape notice. From construction barriers to chainlink fences, the visual language of infrastructure through meticulous, labor-intensive craft processes that challenge our perceptions of utility, value, and visibility.
I draw from the transitional chaos of construction sites, translating temporary safety structures into wearable forms and sculptural installations. My hand-fabricated jewelry and wall pieces highlight the material poetics of chain-link fences, signposts, and rebar–objects that exist on the margins of daily experience. The work recasts the overlooked into objects of contemplation, curiosity, and critique, reminding us that the invisible infrastructure of modern life is anything but neutral.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Consistency and a desire to learn about new processes and incorporating those processes into my work. I am alway curious about the world around me and think about the materials, process and who is building our environment. I also enjoy collaborating with other artists, engineers, musicians, anyone who knows more about things I don’t know about (which is a lot of people!) Collaboration offers new avenues that I have never considered and opens up new possibilities for the work
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nataliemacellaio.com
- Instagram: @nmacellaio
Image Credits
Natalie Macellaio
