On the Artist & the Art

The Artist

My name is Nathan Norris Pattie. I love poetry, animals, nature, music, poker, delicious food, folk art, authenticity, and you. I do my best to reflect my heart in my art. I embrace my inner child. This was not written by A.I., nor is any of my poetry. My background prior to this: a life full of wild and unimaginable adventures.

Educationally, I went to U.C. Santa Barbara & have a double major in Psychology and Philosophy, with an emphasis on Ethics & Public Policy. One time, as a teenager on campus, I ate lunch six feet away from Stephen Hawking. No, I didn't bother him and his physicist buddies while they were eating lunch. Proximity to Stephen Hawking does not make me a better person, of course - it is simply a fun memory and story :)

Professionally, I have worked as a communications professional in the tech consulting space and performed stints in the non-profit and human services sectors. In my youth, I enjoyed working in restaurants and even Borders & Books, where I once had a rousing conversation with Brad Pitt about Fight Club & taking time off work.

Between July 2025 & March 2026 I completely transformed my lifestyle, which now reflects in my new apparel collections & poetry. I gave up alcohol, cigarettes, and pot. I started exercising, practicing ruthless honesty (with myself & others), lost 60 pounds (without meds), became a pescatarian, started journaling and writing every day, and distanced myself from personal relationships (at least temporarily) not serving my growth. I entered hermit mode.

All of these changes led to what I would call a spiritual awakening. I remembered we are all divine beings, as ascended masters throughout history have taught us. I experienced a kundalini experience with all the massive vibrant energy I'd only heard stories about (and wasn't even sure was real) prior to it happening to me. Now, I funnel as much of this beauty and truth as possible into my art. I do my best to live within this moment of this moment. The kingdom of God is within you!

I am grateful to have survived so many difficult life experiences. I have buried mother, child, several grandparents, friends, and nearly myself (unintentionally) many times. The leading cause of death in my family is medical error, as it sadly still is for too many in this world. I have experienced painful cancer and stroke journeys alongside loved ones. All this, and more, is where I draw my compassion from. I honor these trials for what they have taught and teach me still, and I choose not to identify with them. I've done my shadow work, remembering there is always more to learn, always more to heal, and always more to love.

I share what I can through my art, for my own joy and healing, and hopefully for others, as well. No one is better than anyone else. We are all on our own beautiful and unique paths. My primary motivation is not money, but to exchange wisdom, guidance, and love, as I am able, with anyone who cares to listen. Whatever money comes from these endeavors, I accept gratefully.

Random fun personal facts: I have black belts in Taekwondo & Hapkido, earned under Grandmaster Myung Kim; meditation and focus were the most valuable skills I learned in martial arts. I marched the Rose Parade twice as a saxophone player in what now feels like a previous life. I high school I was a sprinter, shot putter, and pole vaulter. My direct ancestor, Sylvester Pattie, was an early American explorer alongside his son James Ohio Pattie, and the first American to die on California soil as memorialized in San Diego. I absolutely love singing and karaoke. I have tons of cool stories I may eventually share here or on my Instagram & YouTube channels, which are marketing extensions of this site (both @NathanNorrisPattie). Follow me there, on FaceBook (ReRaises.com), and/or sign up for my email list if any of this resonates with you.

I am an authentic human being doing my best to serve this world as I can. Please feel free to reach out with any comments, suggestions or collaboration offers. I am also open to custom design and writing jobs. Feel free to ask me anything, and I will do my best to reply.

The Poetry

As a lifelong writer born of a family of writers, none of my poetry is ever written, edited or conceived by or with A.I. It is written, edited, and conceived as I am writing this now: with a real pen, on paper I can feel, using mostly black or blue ink (and yes, I wrote nearly all of this section out on actual paper prior to typing it).

As helpful as A.I. is, I won't let it near my poetry writing process. All photographs I post on this site alongside each poem are also my own. My writing is genuinely human, imbued with my love and truth, and intended to brighten whatever my torchlight is pointing to in each creative writing moment.

The Apparel

This site was launched initially to provide the world with super cool poker apparel. Stuff I desired to wear, but could not find anywhere else. So, I made it. After my self discovery journey, I expanded to include healing apparel and poetry to honor and mirror my growth.

Some apparel designs on this site are fully human-made, while others are co-created with A.I. Many stores use A.I. designs, do no editing, and simply slap designs on shirts. That is not this. On average, each of my designs takes (at least) several hours to complete, I use many different softwares to refine each design to completion. This effort does reflect in the final result. It is why my designs are so cool looking ;)

Each apparel design leveraging A.I. undergoes, on average, 40-60 iterations in the A.I. phase alone, prior to hours of additional human editing and refinement. This process leads to each beautiful and final-as-can-be result. Dozens of designs I spend hours on, and then they still sadly head straight to the cutting room floor, not making the grade.

The written copy for the apparel descriptions is usually, but not always, a collaboration between myself and A.I. Even as a professional writer, I still value the efficiency and usefulness of A.I. for some writing (just not my poetry, essays, or writings within the Poetry section of this website).

All apparel designs and writings are exclusive to RERAISES LLC, created by RERAISES LLC, and protected by applicable copyright and trademark laws of the United States of America and relevant local jurisdictions to whomever is reading this (see Terms of Service for more...super interesting stuff).

A Brief Note on the Ethics of A.I.:

I don't agree with much of how A.I. is being used in the world right now. I also do not believe it follows that since some are using A.I. for evil, others should stop using it for good. Some believe any use of A.I. is somehow a big thumbs up for all of it. I do not believe this to be true. My heart aches every time I see corrupt uses of A.I., and I am not a fan of the next big data center being built. But I won't let that dim my light or shame me into not using the most powerful tool humanity has ever created for good.

I believe there will come a day when A.I. is able to achieve incredible things for everyone on Earth, leading to a new golden technological era. All without the environmental destruction being caused right now. I believe we will reach new heights in energy conservation and use, just as we are simultaneously making breakthroughs with A.I. across all fields of study.

In my humble opinion, the A.I. debate is more complicated than most give it credit for. The game theory involved has also, apparently, narrowed certain options from being realistic. I would like to see more international cooperation and ethical A.I. safeguards put into place, which are sorely lacking right now. All of this said, I will continue to keep an open mind, as I try to about everything. Much love to you!