Meet Tininha Silva | Textile Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tininha Silva and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tininha, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
The belief that it’s always possible to reinvent yourself regardless of age and life circumstances.

Before discovering the world of weaving, I worked in the swimwear industry for well over 15 years, as a retailer and designer, When I decided it was time to quit and pursue a new dream, I experienced what some might call an identity crisis.

It wasn’t until my family and I moved from Seattle to a small town in the Peninsula, that I was exposed for the first time to an upper level of hands-on art form. Weaving and working with my hands, immediately clicked for me and so I held onto that feeling and moved forward with it without stopping and without looking back.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Almost 5 years ago, I decided to take up on a non-traditional form of weaving involving only a fairly basic homemade loom, hands and fibers. For the first time I experienced total control of my creations from beginning to end. 8
My approach to weaving is instinctive and organic with no pre-plan or sketches beforehand with the hope to eliminate feelings of restriction or containment.

Through my creations, I try to manifest and recreate ecological harmony scenes as a way to address the instability of our ecosystem. I like to work with natural materials like paper, raffia and wool to compose woven tapestries with lush textures of malleable chunks of woven sculptures that might resemble ramifications of roots, sea life, coral reefs, barnacles, seaweed, and sea anemones – All through innumerable double half hitch knots.

More recently I have been exploring and experimenting with creating three-dimensional multi-part pieces that allow myself to work more sculpturally… and it all requires a lot of trust in the process.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take my best friend for a beautiful walk at North Beach and Fort Warden State Park followed by some amazing food at Hanazono Asian Noodle restaurant and later in the afternoon for an exotic drink at Admiralty fine foods watching the most beautiful view from their open deck.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I feel unbelievably lucky of the acceptance of my community, followers and collectors. their support empowered me to keep going. I do believe any of us can do anything we set our minds to. We just need to keep our dreams alive and chase them whenever we can.

My husband and children were also very supportive of my new adventure since the very beginning. They have always been my cheerleaders and their love and support allowed me to be creative and take my time perfecting my style and finding my own voice. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be creative every day.

Website: www.tininhasilva.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tininhasilvastudio/

Image Credits
Travis Gillet / images 1, 2 and 3 Mark Sandvig / images 4 and 5 Brian Goodman / image 6 Image of myself / Luca Yearian