Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Puckett.
Hi Tina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
THE GIFT
Sometimes, the path in life that we chose to take comes in the form of an unexpected gift. In 1981, I was a stay-at-home mom, and my mother gave me a gift for an adult education basket weaving class at Litchfield’s prestigious Forman School. Basket weaving came naturally to me, I felt like I had been doing it all my life. I was so intrigued with the weaving arts that everyone that year got a basket for Christmas!
Engaged and artistic, it didn’t take me long before I became bored with weaving traditional baskets. I started to look for natural materials grown locally that I could incorporate into different woven forms. My first experimentations were with grapevine but to my eye, the end result looked too forced or studied. One brilliant autumn day when I was foraging for grapevine, I came across the Bittersweet vine and it was love at first sight! Bittersweet opened up a whole new world of weaving possibilities for me. The vine felt like magic in my hands because it gave me visions of what form it wanted to be. Going on 40-plus years, I have never looked back and continue to forage for Native American Bittersweet vines and imagine the fantastic forms that we will create together.
One of the most important life lessons I learned was from my Grandmother Fern. On my 45th birthday, she told me, “You are about to begin the most important years of your life, so do what you are meant to do – and do something that makes you happy.” Looking back, I am so thankful I followed my grandmother’s advice. The support of my parents and the appreciation of my work from so many clients from around the world gave me the confidence to continue to grow and thrive as an artist.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The challenges of being an Artist is not only that you have to constantly produce new products; it is to figure out where to sell your products. I find that I am always re eventing my business. The other part of having an Art business is that I find myself being the PR person, accountant, and salesperson.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
MILESTONES
My woven pieces from baskets to wall sculptures, ceiling hangers, to furniture has evolved and is the way I define myself as an artist and as a woman. I am fulfilling my dreams that started out with my imagination as a set designer. My creative path took a turn. It was not set design—but the woven arts with its many forms and functions where I found the passion for my life’s work.
The natural beauty of Bittersweet always sparks my imagination and is at the heart of the many pieces I weave. My imagination guides all that I do, and it has become very attuned to the harmony of shapes, forms, and colors of the vines and reeds. I am also influenced by the beauty of our natural world and wonder how to weave it. Perfect examples of my interpretation of nature are my woven wall sculptures of flowers and landscapes.
Raised in sunny South America as a child, some of my color palette is influenced by this experience. I mix my own dyes and enjoy building a palette for the reeds that will shape textures and forms with color. For the most part, what I do is very planned from the beginning. When I prepare my materials, I know what colors I am going to use and the basic form the piece will take.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The key pressure facing the Artist is the economy. Art is not considered a necessary purchase. Trying to find the sweet spot for pricing the Art is key. To make sure that you have a variety of price points. Following the trend in the new colors that customers are decorating their homes.
It’s important to find opportunities such as Galleries to show and sell the Artwork. Also, it’s very important to keep your e-commerce website up to date.
Pricing:
- $50 – $10,000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Tinasbaskets.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tinasbaskets
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/tinasbaskets
Image Credits
Debra Lill
