People have asked Rio Rico artist Nathalie Harmening if her ethereal sculptures are made from plastic.
βNo! Itβs natural prickly pear!β she responds.
With a half-laugh and a quick, knowing smile, Harmening, who goes by the name Nath Raye to honor her sculptor mother Donna Rae, describes her art, which is unlike anything youβd expect to emerge from the dry sands of Arizonaβs desert.
At the Fall Art Walk in Tubac in November, Raye held her delicate, wing-like sculptures made from Sonoran prickly pear cactus fibers. Her work is available exclusively at the Turquoise Tortoise Gallery in Tubac, 5 Calle Baca.
Pictured are Nath Raye's finished prickly pear wings.
Here, under the unyielding Arizona sun, Rayeβs artistry and her life story have become deeply entangled in the resilience of the land.
Tubac, a vibrant yet understated artist colony near the Mexican border, has quietly drawn artists like Raye, offering both escape and inspiration. For her, Tubac and the surrounding desert embody survival and transformation. Her work, like the prickly pear itself, isnβt fragile; it speaks of strength through hardship.
βThe desert is so full of life!β she says, rejecting the common misconception of the desert as barren.
In her world, the arid land pulses with hidden beauty, grit and growth β a perfect mirror for her own journey.
Nath Raye shows one of her most vibrant pieces, a female warrior representation, in front of her house.
Raye, originally from Oregon, didnβt come to the desert in search of art. Rather, art found her when her life was turned upside down.
In 2014, while she was living in New Mexico, her health deteriorated rapidly after she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, an autoimmune disorder. Spine issues left her bedridden and in pain.
She lost her teaching career, her mobility and a doctoral program in political science that she had worked hard to pursue.
βI had to quit teaching because I couldnβt walk anymore. I had to learn how to use my legs and hands again,β she recounts.
Nath Raye and her two dogs, including her service dog Jessie.
Determined to reclaim her life, she adopted Jessie, a service dog who became her steadfast companion, and started hiking, slowly regaining strength.
βI started bringing things home, like long roots after rain,β she explains.
These objects, once simple reminders of the outdoors, slowly began shaping her new artistic vision and grounding her recovery.
βArt gave me something else to wake up for,β the 63-year-old says. βFor us middle-aged women going through grief, itβs crucial to learn resilience instead of sitting in despair.β
Sculpting resilience: the cactus as canvas
Creating her intricate sculptures is a painstaking ritual that pays homage to the desertβs strength. The process starts with cactus fibers that Raye carefully harvests.
βProcessing the cactus takes about three months. I spent years figuring out how to make those thin pieces of fiber that I can bend and are indestructible,β she said.
Nath Raye handles prickly pear cactus pieces with ease since her loss of finger sensitivity from chronic illness lets her work undeterred by the thorns.
She collects, stews, dries and layers each fragile piece of cactus fiber, hand-transforming them into βwingsβ that resemble fairy-like structures. Itβs a labor of love and patience, requiring physical endurance and an intimate understanding of the desertβs cycles.
Each sculpture embodies nature itself, with colors and textures that feel both foreign and familiar, urging onlookers to touch, even βtaste,β as Raye jokes. In her studio, she carefully controls the environment, closing curtains to protect her work from Arizonaβs harsh sunlight.
Living with the land
Raye and her husband Ron chose to settle in Rio Rico, a largely Hispanic community with deep historical roots. Through art, she connects not only with her own journey but with the rich legacy of the Latinx families who have called it home for generations.
βWe didnβt want to live in a white enclave,β she explains. βI wanted to understand the culture of the border, the place I was settling in.β
Artist Nath Raye handles the painted prickly pear layers that make up her finished pieces, each one resembling delicate fairy wings.
βThe knowledge I gained about this area helped me understand what people go through when they cross the border,β she added. βWe are sympathetic to the challenges migrants encounter here, with so much limited food and water. The desert has its beauty only if you know your cactuses and survival tips to face its hard conditions.β
Rayeβs journey, much like her art, is one of transformation and endurance.
βI cannot wait until I wake up tomorrow and do this again,β she says with conviction. βThat feeling ... that is the magic of resilience.β
