Check Out Natalie Corwin’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Corwin.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I originally came to Nashville in 1996 to get a music business degree with the hopes of becoming a recording artist and an actor. I had some small jobs here and there: Music videos, commercials… I was even an extra on The Walking Dead. When I realized that being an artist meant being an entrepreneur, I felt pretty intimidated and decided to get a job with a salary and benefits and worked in the business side of the music industry for six years.

During that time, I adopted a dog named Sophie from Nashville Humane and she became my soul mate. Because of her, I started volunteering for animal welfare causes and began educating myself on the issues around pet homelessness and the lack of access to affordable veterinary care. I was stunned to learn in 2008 that 80% of all the animals that entered the Metro Nashville shelter were being euthanized and the majority of those pets were completely adoptable.

In 2011, I co-founded Pet Community Center and we opened a nonprofit veterinary clinic in East Nashville that provides low-cost and free veterinary care for thousands of pets each year. The programs offered by Pet Community Center helped to prevent pets from entering the shelter. By 2019 the number of animals entering the shelter had dropped by more than 50%. and the euthanasia rate is now under 10%. A few years after the clinic opened, I realized that I actually WAS an entrepreneur – a social entrepreneur!

Then in 2019, I experienced a magical moment that completely changed my life and brought music and art back to the center of my world. I was on my way to a party on July 4 and I heard a song on the radio. The song was “Love It If We Made It’ by a band called 1975. I can’t articulate exactly what happened to me, but it was almost like the song just reached through the speakers in my car and grabbed me. I could physically feel creativity coursing through me.

I was exhilarated. Later that week, I bought every record by The 1975, and here I was in my 40’s, finding myself completely obsessed with a British pop band! I also had a very strong desire to create something. I started brainstorming about what I should create. Should I record music? Write a book or a play? Start painting? I landed on painting. I hadn’t made visual art since I was in middle school, but I got a few supplies and just started to dabble, just for fun.

I started posting a few photos of my new hobby on Instagram and suddenly friends were asking if they could buy my pieces. It was an absurd idea to me at first, I just offered to give my friends the paintings. One of my friends insisted on paying for it, so I sold my first piece of art to her.

At the same time The 1975 were touring (remember those days?) and the closest tour stop was in New Orleans. So I picked up some tickets and made plans to travel. I started following the band on all social media platforms and started following other fans as well. The band has an incredible following of people who are passionate about the environment, social justice, and equity. And the band had just released a song about climate change featuring Greta Thunberg. One fan on Twitter suggested that we all get together and plant trees before shows. I knew right away how I could pull off something like that.

I found a nonprofit in New Orleans that plants trees and asked if they’d help me organize a tree planting event on the day of the concert. And then I reached out to the band’s record label and asked if they’d help me promote it. And amazingly, they said yes! The lead singer posted about it and a large group of fans planted Live Oaks in City Park in New Orleans. It was such a beautiful and communal experience. A few of us were invited to go backstage before the concert to meet the lead singer, Matty Healy, and he was incredibly gracious and appreciative. We got to stand in the front row of the concert and it was the best show I’ve ever been to.

I felt myself being pulled away from my work at Pet Community Center and in a new direction. I initially thought I was going to step down from my role and start a new nonprofit to organize fan-led tree plantings before concerts. And then COVID-19 hit and live music and large volunteer events came to a screeching halt. And my organization needed leadership to get through the terrible crisis of 2020, so I continued on. In 2020 I had my first gallery show at Turnip Green Creative Reuse (where I am a founding board member) – in March right before everything shut down.

I sold nearly all 30 pieces that were in the show and it was both a huge surprise and a validation that my art was resonating with other people. When the world fell apart, I had art as a retreat. More and more I felt that art was the next chapter for me. At the end of 2020, the new normal was setting in and I could see Pet Community Center moving on without me. I shared with my colleagues that I was stepping down and in May 2021, making art became my job! I am so proud of the work I did alongside the amazing people at Pet Community Center. I truly believe it was my calling for the ten years that I did that work. And it was clear that a new era of my life was calling to me.

I strive to incorporate reuse and sustainable materials in my work and create things that will last. I source a lot of my materials from Turnip Green Creative Reuse. It is my favorite art supply store – and the things I find there inspire me every time I walk in the door.

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?
I think my first obstacle was imposter syndrome which kept me from pursuing an acting/recording career because I didn’t think I was entrepreneurial. I now know that I am very much an entrepreneur!

COVID was also a struggle – but in a lot of ways, it also helped me to realize how short life is and that this is our one life. I wanted to make sure I felt like I explored all the places my heart wanted to go and in a way, COVID was the wake-up call to me to go ahead and do it.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an artist and I work primarily with alcohol ink and resin. I am known for my abstract paintings in vibrant colors. Music is the inspiration for my work and I often try to “paint” the way a piece of music makes me feel and put that into a visual representation. Of the best examples is a painting called “Effervescence” which was inspired by the song “Love It If We Made It”.

I also love to make functional art, including serving trays, coasters, and trinket trays. I’m known for my “ocean wave” boards which are made with resin that is tinted blue and white. I use a heat gun to create an effect that looks like an ocean wave crashing onto the wood serving tray.

I try to use sustainable materials in all my work. I source a lot of materials from Turnip Green Creative reuse, which is a nonprofit that diverts materials from landfills and makes them available for creative endeavors in a pay-what-you-can model. It’s really one of Nashville’s best gems! I also create art using scrap wood that comes from my husband’s job.

He is an artisan carpenter and he works for a company that builds really amazing drums. He often buys the scrap wood from work and brings it home. We create things together and I also use the wood as a backdrop for many of my landscapes.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories was making musicals with the neighborhood kids and performing them with our parents. For some reason, I was very into theme songs of 80s TV shows and I would record them with my old school tape recorder.

Then I’d write a play based on all the theme songs – and it must have been totally insane for our parents because I think I would mix up a montage of music that ranged from Superman to The A-Team to Simon and Simon and Gimme a Break. I can’t tell you now what the plot line was (if any, haha!).

I guess I was always creating things inspired by music! And leading other people!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.nataliecorwin.com
• Instagram: @nataliecorwin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalie.corwin1