Howdy and thank you for visiting my shop!
My name is Melissa Otero, and I am the artist behind Tangled Up In Knots. I named my shop and studio as a play on Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue". The song was stuck in my head for days, and I took it as a sign for my creative moment.
I started and immersed myself in macrame in March of 2020. I would say it was my quarantine hobby, but it really became so much more for me. For me, fiber art has been a way to express myself creatively. I have also really found it to be therapeutic to cope with anxiety and live in this global moment. On top of a pandemic, I had decided to drop-out of my master's program in geography, and I really wanted to work with my hands. Fiber art has been my refuge to work with my hands and act out creatively
Tangled Up In Knots is a culmination of all my lived experiences, education, and aesthetic. I was born and raised in Yuma, Arizona. In my twenties, I moved around California, starting in San Diego, then Santa Cruz, and up to Humboldt County. In Santa Cruz, I earned my bachelor's degree in anthropology, focusing on environmental. I also spend some time in Virginia and South Carolina. Now I have settled down with my partner, Tayler in Indiana with our beagle, Orson Wilson, and cat, Etta Ramon. From our cozy home, I work in my little corner studio. I draw upon all my life experiences and the beautiful landscapes I've traversed.