Rising Stars: Meet Natalia Gaydos

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalia Gaydos.

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?
My upbringing was kind of all over the place! I think it explains why my tastes and interests are super eclectic. I mainly grew up in Europe though, since my Mother’s side of the family is Czech. When I think back to what I was like as a kid, I guess I would think of myself as really geeky and enthralled by art, media and pop culture. It probably could be explained by the fact my parents both met each other due to working in the film industry. I was completely obsessed with Looney Tunes as a child, and I truly feel like it is still the backbone of the way my brain has been wired and my entire personality.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If you are the creative type, I’m sure you most likely also have mental health issues like me! There are times where growing up felt incredibly dark and clouded. I struggled my whole adolescent life feeling incompetent and not understanding my brain just works completely differently than everyone else. It’s been an eye-opening journey of acceptance on how my mind ticks. I urge anyone to really put work into self-healing. I know it’s easier said than done, but for me it has been extremely rewarding.

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?
After high school and doing some odd jobs, I got into Art Center College of Design and decided Illustration Design was the track best suited for me and my tastes. I wanted to truly dip my toes into everything, probably because I had no idea what my “specialty” was, other than illustrating. I am so thankful for all the teachers who have helped me realize my potential and the encouragement I’ve gotten to truly dive deep into what I care about. I also got to have my first experience being part of an art show in Berlin that really taught me about having confidence and almost becoming nihilistic in the sense about not caring what anyone thinks or how people perceive me.

While living in Pasadena for school, I was looking for places to volunteer or work at, and I stumbled into the world of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. I’d already been there once for the first time in 2018 at their old location in Echo Park for a screening of old surrealist Czech films, and I think I laughed so hard I cried. I was totally in love, especially with Miss Black Cat who would hop on all the gentleman’s laps while singing City Lights in the style of Liza Minelli.

I’ve always had a fondness for puppetry due to watching and being surrounded by so much puppetry art in Czech Republic as a child. After coming back from Europe, I saw that the theater had just moved to Highland Park and was only a train and a bus ride away! (Yes, I live in LA and don’t have a car, WE EXIST!)

I started volunteering there super often, helping anyway I could as an extra hand for cleaning, making art whenever I could for them, helping to man the box office for shows and events, helping organize the archives, it’s a very easy world to get lost in, and I was in DEEP! It truly gave me so much courage to “make” and participate as much as I could. I even recently got to design some merchandise for Mega64, who I’ve been a huge fan of since Middle School. I now work as the Social Media Coordinator for the theater. A few exciting things to note, we are having shows every Friday – Sunday at Knott’s Berry Farm through September 5th, and we just announced our Holiday BrouHaHa summer tour in the LA area which anyone can reserve FREE tickets for. I am SO thrilled for all the exciting announcements that will be made over the summer, so I urge anyone interested to stay tuned!

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I realized during COVID how important connecting to other people is for me, even if I’m kind of introverted most of the time. During quarantine, I decided to start a project on a Bob Baker Marionette Theater zine collection, and with the help of artist friends from school, online mutual friends, the theater, and especially Molly Cox who helped me curate the zines and Heather Mobley who helped with printing them, we made it happen. After that, I suddenly ended up dipping my toes into other people’s zines, which I really needed the motivation for, otherwise I wouldn’t have been drawing at all, other than for school. I missed interacting with others so much and being able to have so many friends collaborate on a project together really meant so much to me, especially during such a tumultuous time in all our lives, and how important community is. I think that what makes a place like the theater so special is the creativity and kindness that naturally stems from something so uncynical and joyful.

Contact Info:

• Email: nataliagaydos@gmail.com
• Website: http://www.bobbakermarionettetheater.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nainati/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NAINATI
• Other: http://www.bobbakermarionettetheater.com/store/zine-vol-3

Image Credits:
Photos taken at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater by Natalie Hadland