“My imagination gifts me the overall form.”
– Tina Puckett
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.
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.
Weaving Arts – Today and Tomorrow
Many people ask me how long it takes me to weave a piece. That is not an easy question to answer. I understand that time is a valuable commodity. I am grateful that I am able to create freely without the boundaries of time. One surprising thing people don’t know about weaving is that it can be physically difficult! I often weave standing up even though my legs get tired and achy! Even though I spend much of my time weaving, and knowing how to move my hands, my skin still gets raw and sometimes it is painful because I have developed carpal tunnel! People are also surprised at how long you have to hold things in place and how hard that actually is to do! I weave for the joy of creation and for my love to share my pieces with you.
My work started with humble vessels for a purpose. As my craftsmanship grew with the use of Bittersweet vines, my work evolved into one of kind sculptured vessels. And then, it blossomed to one of kind sculpture wall hangers. As I was creating new forms and weaving them, I decided to experiment with different techniques of traditional weaving. Recently, I decided to create my own technique of weaving, which I named “Dymentional Weave." Today I am in the process of creating some new works without the vines, such as "The Hands. So, stay tuned, there's much more to come!