Meet Julie Puckett: Designer and Artist

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

Hi Julie, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
When posed the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” it was easy for me to answer right away. Both of my parents were graphic artists (who dabbled in their own creative work on the side), so art was a natural language for me to communicate in. I imagine everyone with artistic parents feels similarly compelled to also be creative, but for me, artistic endeavors have always felt like home. I studied theatre in high school and majored in it in college; after graduation I worked in several small and a few major theatres across the country (to no great acclaim). I quickly found I needed an alternate source of income if I didn’t want to resign myself to surviving off ramen noodles and Lucky Charms for the rest of my life. In my late twenties, I decided to take a stab at design work. I didn’t know a lot about design, except the principles I had learned in my fine arts classes and my own basic intuition as an artist. At first, I wasn’t great. I was mediocre-to-middling. Eventually I landed a job that afforded me the opportunity to create some graphics here and there, and I found that was the thing I looked forward to the most in a 9-5 (spoiler: it still is). Creative work (design, writing, occasionally acting) is the only work that gets me really excited. I love being challenged to create lasting beauty and compelling art in my work- it elevates the everyday, and brings a bit of brightness to the ordinary. That feels like important work, these days.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I got my start when a friend asked me to do a logo for a play he had written. It wasn’t a paid gig, but I didn’t really care. It was a chance to see if maybe I had it in me to really do this, so I very eagerly dived in. I’m completely self-taught, which sounds impressive (I think?) but actually means I was way behind other people in my field and had to hustle to catch up. The technical knowledge required to be a successful graphic artist is staggering to someone not well-versed in tech (enter: me). I remember working really hard, getting frustrated at the process, trying again, and finally submitting something I was proud of. I would probably be embarrassed by the finished result now, but I’ve buried it deep in the recesses of my brain at this point so I don’t even remember exactly what it looked like. I didn’t get any other design gigs right away, but slowly over time, people threw my name in for projects, and the year after that first logo I was ready to make things official. And thus, Cup of Sea was born. Cup of Sea is about designs that are whimsical as well as clean, self-aware and intended to spark joy. I really respond to work that makes me smile inwardly, and I try to imbue my work with that quality when I can.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My husband and I are pretty simple people; we love eating really good, hearty food and drinking local beers. Our favorite place to do that is at Wrecking Bar. We’ve been going there since it opened, and it has this magical quality about it that I don’t think it will ever lose. My favorite hike in the area is at Sweetwater Creek State Park. It’s so peaceful, beautiful, and mysterious. The ruins of the New Manchester Mill on the creek are almost otherworldly in their beauty- it almost makes you forget you’re so close to a major city. We also love Piedmont Park in fair weather of any season. It’s the perfect place to take your dogs or your wee ones for a walk, or to have a lie down on the lawn. There are a bajillion arts festivals (in the era before COVID, at least), and going to the ones in this park were always so much fun.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
If I had to dedicate this to someone, it would be to every person that gave me a chance before I had any sort of body of work to show them. The friends who let me do their show posters or logos, the same friends who referred me to small businesses over and over again, those people have made such a difference in my life, and I can’t be more grateful to them. I just finished working on a Broadway show poster, and it’s truly thanks the community I am so fortunate to be part of. If you’re someone who regularly gives others a hand up, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. You make a difference. Thank you to the people who’ve believed in me from the start. I couldn’t have done this without you.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CupofSeaDesigns
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CupofSeaDesigns/
Other: A few years ago we renovated a 1990 school bus and made it into a tiny house! Here’s the website where we chat all about tiny house living. If that’s your thing, check it out! https://houseb.us/