Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Cannon.
Tina, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I think I get my creative gene from my mother. She has this old wooden chest filled with drawings & sketches of hers that I used to look through when I was a kid. And as a teenager, I’d take them and hang them on my bedroom walls among my other collage of teenage memorabilia. I also remember seeing photographs of her in her high school fashion class walking the runway in her designs. She was so cool! She also used to sew a lot when I was growing up and would make my Halloween costumes. I was definitely the best looking princess fairy that year. Since I can remember, I’ve been exposed to a variety of creative mediums. Any creative interest I expressed was lovingly supported. I was always doing some kind of extracurricular activity: oil painting, ice skating, even bowling classes! And being an only child, you learn to rely on your imagination a lot. So I was always coloring something, writing up a story & illustrating its pages, or drawing out imaginary characters while developing their world in my head.
Throughout grade school, I was enrolled in all the art classes and like most grade school art programs, we did a lot of painting and drawing. I just figured that’s what I was, a painter and drawer. But I remember feeling like my projects always seemed to miss the mark. One time, a senior art student asked if I had ever considered taking sculpture or ceramics. At the time, I didn’t understand why I would even consider that. I continued with painting and drawing and eventually ended up at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for my BFA. I felt pretty lost my first year or so, but I eventually ended up in the fashion design program and stuck with that for the remainder of my time. I was illustrating and designing some crazy, sculptural outfits and started to discover my intense love for shapes. But like before, I continuously felt the execution of my designs would fall short. I knew something was missing but couldn’t put my finger on it.
After SAIC, I moved to New York to pursue fashion and interned at a few design houses, worked at a horrible job (think Devil Wears Prada minus the glamour), and finally ended up working for the men’s streetwear company, Supreme. It was a great job but I craved something more creative and needed an outlet. That’s when I discovered silversmithing and jewelry making. I took my first class at Fitzgerald Jewelry Studio in Brooklyn and that was it. I had finally found the medium that could wholeheartedly express my ideas and visions. Creating my first ring felt like magic and as they say, ‘things just clicked.’ I enrolled into the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) jewelry design and manufacturing program back in 2011 and haven’t stopped since. For the last 7 years, I’ve developed my own line of jewelry under the name Tytin Jewelry and opened a studio in Lincoln Square where I taught classes and provided a studio space for other jewelry makers.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
On the surface, I create fine jewelry inspired by the shapes around me and beyond me. Space, the sea, unusual foliage, sci fi worlds, geometry and architecture are some of my main sources of inspiration. I like to create balance in opposing structures, create symmetry out of asymmetry, and incorporate non-traditional gemstones. I create my own line of jewelry along with custom designed pieces such as engagement rings and wedding bands. But beyond that, I try to create pieces that inspire you to wonder and to remember that sense of awe you feel when you, let’s say, see the Aurora Borealis for the first time. And above all and most importantly, I also create relationships which I value the most from my work. Jewelry can be seen as an unnecessary luxury or excessive purchase but for me it’s a memento; a visual reminder, representation, or even talisman of something or someone that has made a meaningful impact on your life. It’s used to celebrate or commemorate that moment or person and I get to help create that connection whether it be between you and the piece or between me and you, or both! I’ve made many great friendships through my jewelry career and that’s a big part of what keeps me making.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
I wish I had learned to relax a lot more. I felt a lot of pressure in my twenties to make the ‘right’ career choice. You know, find the right job that was in the right field with the right salary and above all, make sure it gives you insurance! A lot of that pressure took away my ability to listen to what I needed as an artist and to accept the time it takes to develop your artistic self and your craft. I had always felt like I needed to hit certain milestones by certain times in my life. When really, none of that matters in the long run. It really is all about the process and the journey. Whatever milestone you hit, there’s always going to be another one so you might as well learn to like the ride. I think a lot of that also comes from what we all do as artists, compare ourselves to other artists. So I would also say, don’t compare yourself to others. I know, it’s really hard to do! But have faith you are where you should be and are doing what you’re supposed to do. Oh and also, be nice to people!
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can find me on Instagram @tytinjewelry where I post a lot about what I’m currently working on and about my jewelry adventures. Or you can visit my website www.tytinjewelry.com and sign up for my newsletter. For the last two years, I’ve run my jewelry making studio but am closing in August so I can focus again on my jewelry collections and custom design work. So my website will be updated to reflect that in the coming months including opening an online shop. Otherwise, people can sometimes find me around town since I tend to do a lot of the local art fairs such as Renegade and Show of Hands Chicago.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tytinjewelry.com
- Email: tytinjewelry@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tytinjewelry
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TytinJewelry/
Image Credit:
Tina Cannon
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