We recently connected with Tanesha Pitt and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tanesha, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was a portrait of my late grandfather, “Papa”. It was the most difficult portrait I’ve created. For the first time in my career, I was not just the creator, I became my own client. My grandfather fell ill on Christmas Day. My family and I took care of him around the clock for three months. We poured so much love into him in those last days and I held his hand as he took his last breath. He was the glue that held our family together and suddenly he was gone. While approaching the date of his funeral, I knew I wanted to pay a special tribute to him, but I was distraught and unable to find the zeal to even lift a finger to create. I stumbled across a wonderful gentleman who offered wise words of encouragement that I will hold on to forever. He said, “Let love meet love”. He explained that the love that I have for my Papa and the love that I have for my art, bringing those two loves together couldn’t possibly bring me pain, but rather, it will help me to find my joy again. He was right. I spent intimate time creating a portrait of my grandfather, defining every wrinkle, putting that twinkle back in his eyes, and recreating his unique features. It was tough but it healed me. His portrait was on display at his funeral service and repass. As my loved ones walked by the portrait, I could see their shoulders rise a little and a slight nostalgic smile appear on their faces. I was my own client; I felt the impact of my work that day, and I saw the joy it brought families at a time when sadness is sometimes the only emotion they can find. Love met love that day, and then love met healing.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
My name is Tanesha Pitt and I’m living out my childhood dream. I am a full-time artist specializing in string art portraits. This fulfilling journey started out as an opportunity to bring smiles to my clients and loved ones through functional custom gifts. I am the proud owner of String Hart. After working arduously behind String Hart, I found my passion to create string art portraits. One day I realized that if I can draw someone holding a pencil, I can certainly get it done with string, and I did! In fact, I love creating portraits so much, I decided to do it full time away from String Hart.
As a full-time artist, I’ve taken my love of string art and transformed it into creating hyper realistic portraits. The portraits I create are created with love and attention to the finest details. My process is tedious and creating portraits take many hours to complete. Most single person portraits have over 1,100 nails hammered completely by hand into a foundation of wood. The average portrait is layered with over 500 yards of thread to bring each image to life. After working tirelessly for many hours, it brings me joy to see the impact that my gift has on the world around me. My clients have reported that their portraits have been display at their loved one’s funerals and it becomes the main topic of any room it’s hanging in. To see my life’s work making such a mark on this world in ways I couldn’t have imagined fulfills me.
My mission is to inspire. I want to inspire artists to be authentic and find time to do what makes their soul happy. Art is therapeutic. The world needs art, the world needs artist, the world needs healing, and we are a part of the antidote. The world needs joy, and art invokes joy. I want to be the example and voice of inspiration to children who hear nothing but “you can’t”. I want the world’s future creatives to know that “You Can” and following your passion will pay you in more ways than just a paycheck. Your passion pays you with fulfillment, joy, experience, time, freedom, philanthropy, and so much more.
I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams and my daughter’s biggest inspiration. I walked away from what society told me to be, I turned my back on every degree, professional license, and certification I had, and I chose to let God lead me right into who he created me to be. I am an artist.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy that I’ve used in growing my clientele actually goes against what most social media moguls would agree on. I wholeheartedly believe in posting quality content, not quantity. My intent is to allow my social media portfolio to show my capabilities and professionalism as an artist. With this approach, during my busy times where posting is scarce, I’m still receiving new business and gaining new followers because I’ve earned their respect with the quality of my posts.
Another strategy that I use to grow my clientele is the most effective of them all. I offer my clients exceptional customer service. I meet near impossible deadlines in some cases, and I take care of them from their first “hello” to their next. In keeping my clients happy, I’ve not only kept them as recurring collectors of my work, but they always refer me to their loved ones. Word of mouth has been the most effective form of advertising for me, and it cost me nothing but simply doing what I already do and taking pride in my client experience.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the joy that I bring to my collectors and followers. I’m not talking about the excitement on their faces when they receive their package with my logo and fragile stickers plastered all over it. I’m talking about the joy that someone has in their heart when they open a portrait from me and immediately see the beautiful face of their late mother looking back at them. The joy they feel when they see that twinkle in her eyes. The joy that for one moment they saw their mom’s beautiful smile again, and through the tears, they find the courage to smile right back. The joy that allows my client to slowly reach over and gracefully touch the nails and thread that somehow recreated that beautiful person that still means the whole world to them. That joy means so much to me. My life’s purpose is to bring a special joy to this world. I’m forever grateful that God blessed me with a gift that can move the world in such a beautiful way, especially during these times.
Contact Info:
- Website: TaneshaPitt.com
- Instagram: @taneshapitt
- Other: Instagram – @String_Hart