The storyteller
Whether she’s on television, on stage or painting colorful portraits in her studio, Natalie Daise always has a story to share.
Photo by Milton Morris
Natalie Daise
Age: 58.
Double take: Fans of the 1990s Nickelodeon TV show Gullah Gullah Island may recognize her as Natalie Alston. Daise co-starred with husband Ron and their two children, Simeon and Sara, for 70 episodes, which aired from 1994 to 1998.
Current occupation: “I have chosen the title of creative catalyst,” she says, which incorporates painting, performances and public speaking.
On the side: Daise works part-time as a tour guide at The Rice Museum in Georgetown.
Words to paint by: “There’s always a story that informs the painting—there’s a narrative in my mind.”
Co-op Connection: Daise is a member of Santee Electric Cooperative.
Worldwide, she is known as Natalie Alston, the mother who sang, danced and acted on Nickelodeon’s Gullah Gullah Island along with her husband Ron and two preschoolers, Sara and Simeon.
In Beaufort, she was “Miss Natalie,” owner of Miss Natalie’s Workshop, where she taught children and adults create ceramics, jewelry and tie-dye prints. Now living in Winyah Bay, with children grown and Ron serving as vice president for creative education at Brookgreen Gardens, Natalie Daise has established herself as an evocative storyteller in a new medium—paint.
“I have been an artist all my life. I got my first paint kit in 1973 and I taught myself how to use it,” she says. “I didn’t start painting again until after we did television and I felt the need to reconnect. As a performing artist, I wasn’t painting much.”
Featured in juried shows including Lake City’s ArtFields and Georgetown’s Artwalk, her colorful portraits of Harriet Tubman quickly gained a following among collectors. They also spawned a second series of works featuring collard greens as a recurring device, the leafy vegetable often taking the shape of halos, wings, even clothing—though “the first one was sort of an accident,” she says. “I was doing a self-portrait because I didn’t have a model and I’d just bought some collard greens. They were on the table, so I painted them into the piece.”
“As a storyteller that happens a lot,” she continues. “Something piques your interest. It’s almost like it wakes up a story that’s already there. The story wakes up and kind of takes over.”
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Get More
To learn more about Natalie Daise and to see her paintings, visit nataliedaise.com and nataliedaiseart.com.