The interview of Nate as told to Tori Weston.
“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes is better than one.” This quote from William Shakespeare gives a glimpse of the art of Nathaniel Devarie the November Artist of the Month. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) made his way to Somerville to be with his now husband Rev. Jordan Harris. Having met several times in Pennsylvania whether at the market where Nathaniel worked or out with friends and bumping into each other. Nathaniel tells him and Jordan had been “neighbors our whole life and didn’t know it.” After exchanging numbers several times, and Nathaniel kept losing it. One day while cleaning he found the number and finally decided to text him. By the time he did, Jordan had left Pennsylvania to attend Boston University School of Theology.
Through their connection and long-distance relationship, Nathaniel didn’t know one could be gay and a pastor. Growing up in a conservative evangelical environment and even willingly going to conversion therapy in hopes “to be fixed.” Being out and part of the church didn’t seem like an option. As their relationship grew, Nathaniel made the move to join Jordan in Somerville. Through living at the Connexion Church parsonage began creating larger pieces of artwork outside particularly creating cut outs for the community to engage in during the pandemic. Through these creations Nathaniel started getting commissions from the city of Somerville to be a part of Fluff Fest, ArtBeat, and other community events.
In being a jack of all trades, one specific piece of work that Nathaniel created to wear 
for his wedding to Jordan. “I wanted to wear something spectacular. It took a year to make it, a lot of trial and error, and while watching episodes of Murder She Wrote.” The wedding garment’s base is a jacket Nathaniel found at a thrift store and from this created a long train. Nathaniel and Jordan’s wedding ceremony was covered by the Boston Globe
While Nathaniel divides his time working as a figure model during the school year and various commissions ranging from wedding invitations to art installations. His overall approach to his work is that “art is serious play, you are seriously creating a time period to play and that’s where things evolve.”
To find more of Nathaniel Devarie’s work visit his website: https://natedevarie.com/home.html
More Artists of the Month from 2024
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About the Artist of the Month
This program is inspired by the Nave Gallery’s “Featured Artist” program, which ran from 2005 to 2009.
SAC’s Artist of the Month program is a way for us to celebrate the enormous wealth of talent in our city, by shining a spotlight on a different creative Somervillian each month.
This program has been put together by a whole raft of people: Coordinators Jenn Harrington (2013-2014) and Kellie Veiga (2013), Gilmore Tammy (2017) and Somerville Arts Council board members Matt Kaliner, Tim Devin, Valeria Amato, and Michael J. Epstein, Bill House (2019-2020), Charan Devereaux (2019-2025), Tori Weston (2019-2025) and Andrea Read (2022-2025). Current coordinators, are Kerrie Kemperman (2019-), Seth Garcia (2025-), and Ben Cuba (2026-).
Know of a great Somerville based artist who should be recognized, please nominate the artist for consideration. We seek artists who contribute to the community through their strong work and community collaborations. Artist should either reside in the City or contribute to the City’s vibrant art scene.