New York City's newest park, Little Island, has a plethora of arts and entertainment offerings this summer. In addition to their artists-in-residence program, they also have a "Perform in the Park" series of pop-up singers, dancers and performers, including some with very unique instruments.
Meet Natalia Paruz, or as Instagram refers to her, the "Saw Lady." Here's an edited excerpt from NY1's interview, in her own words:
My name is Natalia Paruz, but everyone calls me "Saw Lady'" because I play music on the carpenter saw.
I discovered it by chance. It's actually a very old tradition dating back three hundred years, but like most people today, I had no clue about it.
I have more than 20 saws, which I collected over the years in my quest for the perfect-sounding saw. I've never cut myself while playing. However, one time when I was at Home Depot scouting out different saws, I did cut myself on a saw just taking it off the rack. So I guess I could say, yes, that there is a danger in playing a saw.
There are different ways to play the saw, but the most prevalent one is, you're sitting down, you place the handle between your knees. You hold the tip of the blade with your left hand and you bow it with like a violin bow and the vibrations, that's what creates the sound.
It makes you wonder if a saw can make beautiful sounds, what else that we don't think of as an artistic tool could potentially be an artistic tool? When you have a saw, it really takes you places you'd never expect, including Little Island.
Getting the call to perform at Little Island was a beam of sun in an otherwise pretty dark time for me. We were basically forced on a sabbatical, if you wish, of 14-and-a-half months, and I wasn't even sure whether this dark time would end. And then the first thing that happened was the invitation to perform on Little Island. It was the first gig that I got.
I feel that Little Island is like quintessentially New York in that for me, it's all about discovery. With nooks and crannies and footpaths that make you think, "Oh, I wonder what's around the corner, oh, I wonder what's up there."
The theme of discovery is echoed in the performance series because they hired performers like me, who most people don't expect to discover. So it's like, they come in here and it's like, who knows what they might find?
So for me to be a part of Little Island, it's just a great pleasure and honor.
------
You can catch Paruz performing on Little Island on Friday. For more information, head to sawlady.com.
------
Did you know you can now watch, read and stay informed with NY1 wherever and whenever you want? Get the new Spectrum News app here.