It's All About the Cactus
Inspired by the beauty of nature, each sculpture Nath creates begins as natural pieces of cactus wood and fiber found in the Sonora desert. Along with her faithful dog Jesse, Nath loves to wander the wild west border lands, dusty from boots to floppy hat, pulling and pushing her trusty red wagon up over rocks and down into arroyos. This is where she finds the sun baked cactus fossils, roots and plant debris she then transforms into sculpture. After these long treks under the hot sun, after dusting off and drinking copious amounts of water, Nath is back in her studio.
Sculpting with Cactus
Hours, weeks, months go into reclaiming these cactus fossils and fibers. scrubbing and scouring embedded sand, dirt, gravel; peeling thorns and bark; hollowing and smoothing cavities; picking crusted bark out of whirls, curves and crevasses; and painstakingly separating razor-thin cactus fibers. Once the cactus is prepped, it is then ready for the layers of treatment which transform the cactus into a rich, glowing unique work of art.
Nath finds inspiration in the beauty etched inside each cactus piece's strong, enduring fibers. The cactus is hand-formed, sculpted, and painted. As result, both hard and soft cactus fibers come together with a silky. luminous sheen. Each sculpture is then finished with UV museum protective coating, then mounted on a base specially chosen and prepared to complement its structure. When you bring a Nath Raye sculpture into your home, she hopes it's luminous glow, evolving and changing with the light, will fascinate.Are you interested in purchasing Nath Raye’s work? Please check out Nath's art page or contact Turquoise Tortoise Gallery for more information.