Biography

Tina Puckett : President

Why art? What are the goals and rewards of art? I can’t say it any
better than this:

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. ~Degas
I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say ‘he feels deeply,
he feels tenderly.’ ~Van Gogh
To be an artist is to believe in life. ~Henry Moore
The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting. ~Van Gogh
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Picasso
There is no must in art because art is free. ~Kandinsky
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he
grows up. ~Picasso

Trying to explain how I became involved with the arts is like trying to explain how I first took a breath. Art was always there. It surrounded me in gorgeous sunsets, beautiful birdsong, and in the dusty pears of
the pear tree in one of my childhood neighborhoods. My mother carefully
tucked dated pages of toddler artwork (with captions of whatever I slushily told her I’d made at 2 or 3 years of age) into my baby book. My father showed me drawing contests and how to trace and then try to sketch the silly cartoon donkey head from the ads. I have always described my first “museum” as my beloved Gran’ma Jane’s house. Although I never saw her as an artist, she had obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in
Fine Arts while becoming a teacher (never of art). Her home was where I
first saw impressive art. A print of Picasso’s “Three Musicians” hung on
the wall and I wondered at its odd shapes and loved its bright colors,
perfectly enchanting to a child. In one corner of her kitchen, a neatly
spaced set of brightly-colored tin mugs hung in a vertical row awaiting
word games that we played to build my literary skills. In another
corner, a bamboo mobile of brightly-colored birds floated near the
window. Glass flowers bloomed in glass-blown vases in the living room
and in my favorite room, her bedroom, was a wall of primary-colored
shelves full of books, top to bottom, where I ran my fingers lovingly
across the spines that I could reach (I loved the library too) and where
storm-beaten paint-splattered flowers (artist unknown) both disturbed
and intrigued me in their spare wildness from a poster on Gran’ma’s
closet door. And then there was the room of art supplies, writing paper,
and modeling clay that I was strongly encouraged to use every time I
visited: Art Workshop at Gran’ma’s with a Gallery Showing on the Fridge!

I’ll fast-forward quickly through my formal arts education: 2 years of
Art in junior high, 2 years of Creative Writing in high school plus
various college workshops, 9 years of Music instruction, 2 high school
musical productions, and 1 community musical (of which I pray no one has
available video!), and 5 years in various roles, including
Editor-in-Chief, with a university journal of literary and visual arts
(plus one subscription to Photography magazine from Mom in junior high).

I’ll make my arts interests easy: I enjoy nearly everything encompassing
“Fine Arts” and am poet, amateur photographer, and very amateur dabbler
in visual art.

Poetry is what actually brought me to SRCA. I was introduced to Maj
Ragain and the Jawbone readings, and soon I was attending the gallery
readings. At a time of transition in my life, I found an active,
exciting, diverse world of numerous cultural arts opportunities for my
family and a wonderful, supportive community of people through SRCA and
filled my calendar with activities as I became more involved.
Volunteering and publicizing that programming have led me to this role,
and now I will keep building on the work that’s been done, seeking new
visions, techniques, and directions for SRCA, pushing toward existing
goals, and supporting collaborative relationships with other arts
organizations, as well as our own cherished community.

SRCA has already established a valuable presence in this community and
participates in some very meaningful programming. Our work with
children, such as in New World Children’s Theatre where the children
write their own plays, makes me particularly proud. Our events are
always welcoming in support of our goal—community through the arts. We
work tirelessly to keep cultural arts in the forefront of the community
eye using our collective talents, vision, and action to passionately
support the cultural arts of this region!

In addition to my work with SRCA, I am employed at Kent State University
where I am also an alumna with a BA (cum laude) in Psychology, and I am
a current student of NEOMFA pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing. I am
the mother of two children, who have been infused with the arts all of
their lives. My eldest writes songs, plays flute and guitar, and dabbles
in photography while my youngest is a blooming artist and writer. This
often prompts me to say “I have done my job well!” In addition to
supporting SRCA’s extensive work in cultural arts, I support arts
programming in various other area communities.

Community through the Arts! Thank you for supporting the arts!