Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Ciofani.
Hi Tina, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My adventure with art started while I was just a little kid watching my mom make so many magical pieces of artwork. She did a lot of oil painting and also had her own kiln and made many amazing pieces that I would look at and wanted to do exactly that. During this time I would peek at everything she would do.. My mom anlso sewed us two girls clothes for all holidays that matched.. so I decided to start learning to sew in elementary school and I started making beautiful dolls and selling the all over for $20 each and they kept selling out and I loved making them so much.. I actually tried to find the patterns we had made up for the dolls and the clothes but have not re found them yet.. Then and in middle school I took art from middle school, through graduating from High school. I always liked to do what the assignment was but even then I would add my own twist on things I made. I even took metal shop and wood shop in school and was the only girl in high school to be in metal shop and wood shop. Loved every bit of it. I also still would watch not just my mom but many of our family
6 generations of artist in our family.?It was so inspiring to see all the awards of my mother’s art, Stores and boutiques started putting her art in there shops. That’s when I said to myself I wanted to do art in some way. Well I started working after school and I was modeling as well. At this point in my life I lived In Georgia. I ended up married with a baby and so I put things with me on hold till I could get back into some form of art. I started having people by word of mouth ask me to make murals in peoples homes and in there kids rooms..I really enjoyed doing that just to see them smile Made me so happy. I loved seeing the smiles on the owners faces and also when it was in a kids room how much they thanked me for making them have the best bedroom ever.. Even with both my daughters they would go in different stages in different ages and their rooms would reflect what they wanted and what age they were. Then Covid came along and stopped all that. So I started to do some small things here and there.. that brings me to now. ( I don’t know if you want this part of my story but thought I’d tell you and if you didn’t want it you could just remove) During the last several years I was having several medical issue’s and it became harder to do compared to what I used to be able to do. Having all the medical things from back surgery then total hip replacement, issues with my hands it kinda hit at the worst time. Once the doctors started to treat me I was getting better and started putting my art online. So many people loved how I could do so many different things and very creative. People said I should start posting my art online. So I decided well it can’t hurt and I can do it on the days I feel good. Then about 2 years ago my doctors said they have some tests they want to do because of everything I had been going through. So they ran all these test and found that I didn’t have RA like I had been told for approx 18 yrs but I have Scladerma , with connective tissue disease and on top of that the scladerma has moved into your lungs and that’s why you have a hard time breathing and the cough and all the pain. So progressive ILD (Interstitial lung disease is what is wrong with me. So with my love of art still I have made it my mission to make sure I make things that will inspire people to make them feel happy and smile whether my art is on their wall, a shelf, wearing it, or any other form. I let my artwork keep pushing me to learn more and other ways to show art and I make more things to try and make people as happy as they can be. When I started posting I was excited if I got one new follower. And it just really makes me want to make more things so everyone can enjoy a piece of my heart cause I do care about each of the pieces I make it truly comes from my heart and love. I do a lot of trying different ways of doing a piece cause I don’t want to just do a cookie cutter example of a piece. I want to bring it to the next level. I have so much passion for every single piece of art that I do. And I hope whoever ends up with one or more pieces feels this. I also do custom orders for example one piece was 5 feet by 3 feet and I had mixed 54 different colors and the weight of the paint was so heavy I had to have help tilting and turning the canvas. This piece was a fluid art piece. I also do realistic drawings and paintings as well. Another thing is I can make an angel piece with ashes ( cremations) and swirl with a favorite color of whom has passed. Also have 3 cats sizes and 3 dog sizes for baby to adult to do a memorial for the fur baby’s owner. Picture, hair clippings, tags all this can be done and a starry night is one that the mold I fill inside with resin and different layers to the top and the top has all the stars in it. It’s peaceful and gives a peaceful ending to their beautiful life. And to me as a artist you are constantly changing and you grow with each piece you do. I will never say I have perfected something but only because you are constantly evolving everyday of your life and that is how I want people to see my art. I wish for them to get a smile or feel more confident when they wear a piece of my jewelry or just make them happy cause as I said before each piece has my heart in it.i hope to be making art the rest of my life..
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think with everything you are really passionate about there are going to be struggles and when it’s smooth, but it’s all good because you learn even through the rough times you learn and learning is what makes you who you are. I would say the most struggles at the beginning was posting your art and getting comments that were not very kind or men asking to meet etc. I had to learn this is part of putting yourself out there. But in return it made the great parts even more heightened.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a multimedia artist I do resin jewelry, resin painting I do fluid art. I have custom orders where people will have me have specific colors that all you know that they like and then I’ll add in you know things that would match that to heighten it a little more than just you know if someone says oh I want gray and white You need to have more than just the gray and the white so you help kind of do little samples for them with colors that can go with the gray and the white but to give it more than just a couple colors and if they want a lot of cells because I do a lot of fluid Art, resin Art, I make resin jewelry. I do acrylic paintings. I do resin coasters, resin table tops, many beach, resin paintings turtle resin sculpture pieces. I love the beach so I have acrylic paintings of dolphins and underwater, and I used to scuba dive so I take my own experiences and add them to my art. I definitely put my heart into everything I do With my art. I am most proud of finding a way to make something that is a one of a kind and my art keeps growing and evolving in so many ways. I love so many aspects of anything art but when I am still growing, adding in a twist into each piece. Sometimes I can make a piece and it only took an hour and then there are pieces that can take a couple weeks and a hundred hours in. It just depends on what I’m making. I really listen to my customers and I want them to love their piece as much as me if not more. What sets me apart I think is I am a multi-media artist that I have 6 generations of family doing art so I was always exposed to art and that’s how I do a twist and mixed media cause so much exposure to beautiful different art throughout my life.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is making others happy. And my parents are not just my parents but we are also best friends. I have two beautiful girls and lots of beautiful family. With my Art it makes me happy when everything I make comes from my heart and I will work on it until I feel it’s an apart of my heart. I guess I’m a people pleaser and when you invest so much of your heart in a piece it’s the most magical feeling ever.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/periwinkletina
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19ZC1HmStJ/
- Twitter: Periwinkletina Periwinkletina @Artfusionstudioco
- Youtube: Youtube.com/@artfusionstudioco
