Rising Stars: Meet Courtenay Puckett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtenay Puckett.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am originally from Lawrenceville, GA, and I can remember from an early age that art has always been a part of our family. My great-grandmother, uncle, mom, and sisters all have careers in the arts, so it was only natural to take art classes in High school and continue my artistic studies at the University of Georgia.

While in college, my love of art, children, and helping others began to grow stronger. I decided to major in Art Education with a concentration in Drawing and Painting because it combined my passions: Art and teaching. I also realized that as an art educator it was important to continually work and hone my skills as an artist. A language arts teacher may not be an author, but an art teacher should be an artist.

My husband and I started our careers as art teachers and ministers. When we had our first child, I decided to stay home and raise our children, giving my full attention to creating a nurturing home for my family. However, as I began to learn more about our community, I became aware of a large number of needy children and families in our area, and I started a called, Care Sumter organization in Americus. We provide support to DFCS: Clothing, bedding, furniture, mattresses, and other services through local churches.

As my kids grow older, I find myself today, navigating choices of how to use my time wisely for growing my family, growing my artistic pursuits, and growing my non-profit organization.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Artistically, Pace has been an overarching lesson I’ve learned along the way. I am reminded daily of Zechariah 4:10 “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” that is the lesson I’ve come to love and embrace. At times, the day-to-day activities seem slow and like you aren’t moving anywhere toward anything. To accommodate, there have been times when I’ve said yes to everything that comes my way for the sake of staying busy. That’s not a pace that will last long.

Thankfully, I’ve learned my lesson that what I need most is to be selective about projects and be careful about how to spend my time. I’ve learned to “Zoom-out” and look at months at a time, and it’s there that I’ve been able to see growth at just the right speed. Not too much too soon. Not too little too late. But just the right number of projects at just the right time. In celebrating that, I’ve come to appreciate setting a realistic pace that will help sustain me over the years. To me, it’s important to show up and work a little bit each day, and in that, I am reminded of Pablo Picasso’s quote, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

Other challenges include finding artistic peers and connecting with other artists whose opinions I value, which helps me to have a broader view. In the artistic community, I have learned to trust my instincts, experiment, and be brave to create original work- not being lured into patterning my work after the popular genre. It’s essential for me to be free and explore the “what-ifs”, along with keeping a positive growth-mindset attitude. As I’ve grown, I’ve learned to “batch work” many tasks: Stretching canvas, adding gesso, layering backgrounds, preparing sides, and photographing work. By doing these tasks altogether for a collection of work, I’ve found it to be easier than doing them individually.

Another obstacle I’m happy to have moved through is the issue of finding a quality vendor who can photograph my artwork and prepare them for prints. As I show my work, I have found that many people love an image, but affordability is a consideration. Fortunately, I have found a company to work with and now, with more prints available, my work can appeal to a wider audience. Along those lines, is another challenge- marketing.

As an artist, I not only have to think about creating the artwork, but also, the business side. Creating an online shop at www.courtenaycreates.com, maintaining an email list, and engaging through social media are all avenues I’m learning to navigate as well. Challenges are just opportunities in disguise.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Mixed Media artist and find my inspiration in southern landscapes and spiritual concepts. I enjoy working in series, for example, one collection of work was a gospel narrative featuring ten paintings that tell the story of creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration. I also love to participate in group shows be able to meet new people.

Being a mixed media artist means that I get to experiment with many different media together in one painting. Someone once described my work as having a “peaceful joy” quality, and I really like that description. I love using expressive marks and layers of fabric, Conte, acrylic inks, and paint together in fresh compositions.

Artistically, I am most proud of my journey; I haven’t given up, I’ve learned to value the slow and meandering parts just as much as the high points, and I’ve found great satisfaction in the process. My latest work is moving toward an emphasis on abstractions. I’ve found that non-objective abstractions have a way to speak to my soul and I appreciate the challenges and freedom there.

The backgrounds become the foregrounds, and foregrounds move to the background, lines become shapes, and color is light. The interplay between space and shape is appealing to me and provides a rich foundation for me to engage in with my subject matter. The ability to have a visual conversation with viewers is expansive and emotionally satisfying to me, and I absolutely love sharing my work with others.

Another part of my life that I’m equally proud of is my work in the foster care community as the Director of Called to Care Sumter. This organization is like a bridge between the local church and DFCS, and it’s been my joy to serve as the Director for the past 5 years. We engage the community through service projects and are able to aid troubled, struggling families and children in their times of need. It’s my greatest honor to serve my community in this way.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I have learned that crisis perpetuates more need than ever before. Everyone has been more careful about exposure and limiting interactions as much as possible, which has challenged me to create opportunities for connecting in different ways.

I started providing online art classes instead of in-person classes, which has served much homeschooling and virtual families who have needed a creative outlet for their kids. We can still create together, I can still teach, and we can still learn but in a non-exposure way. I love working with children, and this has been a time in the week I look forward to.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.courtenaycreates.com
• Instagram: @courtenaycreates
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/courtenaycreates

Image Credits
Shannon Campbell and Misty Lou