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Photos courtesy of Natalie Haynes.
Above: A multimedia piece using cards are worked into a collage on canvas.
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Photos courtesy of Natalie Haynes.
A multimedia piece using rose petals and hydrangeas.
Natalie Haynes still remembers scribbling under the table as a child while her mother painted above.
All of the women in her family have the gift of art, she said.
When her parents got sick years ago, Haynes, who lives in Vestavia Hills, began cleaning out their attic and was able to turn her father’s old Wall Street Journals into a table made out of resin that showcased the papers that meant a lot to him, she said.
While Haynes has traveled a lot, she has found a primary residence in Vestavia, she said, in order to take care of her parents, though another friend joined in as well.
“A dog adopted me,” Haynes said.
She shares the dog with her neighbor, who watches her when she is out of town.
Haynes has, over the past two years, made a career out of unique art pieces made out of a wide variety of meaningful materials.
When a friend became sick with breast cancer, Haynes set about collecting all of the cards the friend received and making it into something special.
“I cried the whole time,” she said. “The most important question [for clients] is, ‘How do you want to feel?’”
Her friend with breast cancer said she wanted to feel all of it. So Haynes set about to capture the wide range of emotions from the time, and it often led to her own tears. She recalled her boyfriend coming home and seeing her crying, thinking about her friend’s child.
“You’re five years old and your mom is sick,” Haynes said.
In addition to including the cards, the artwork also includes music the family found meaningful, Haynes said. When the family saw the finished piece, they cried, but it was a “joyful happy,” as her friend eventually beat breast cancer, she said.
“It means that I made a difference,” she said.
The work on these handmade pieces Haynes creates is not cookie-cutter, she said. One project included making a piece of art out of her grandparent’s love letters, adorning the piece with a magnolia tree and the name of their hometown, Monroeville, on it, she said.
“It’s like reading text messages; they were so sweet to each other,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Natalie Haynes.
Natalie Haynes
When she begins work on a project, Haynes talks with the client and gets together a game plan, and brainstorms options of what might work and what won’t work, she said. She’ll come to each project with “an open heart and mind,” which can be “scary,” she said.
Working on these projects comes with a high level of trust between Haynes and the client, she said.
“It’s always an absolute honor,” she said.
Working on these projects has taught Haynes that art is powerful.
“It’s just so touching to be able to create something that matters,” she said.
Haynes has a Facebook page, Natalie Haynes Art, and is also available by email at haynesnf@gmail.com or at 415-509-9555.
