When Wylde Women Work

Years ago, I had the great fortune to meet a very dynamic, engaging and talented sculptor Tammy Vitale at the Del Rey Artisans gallery. I had four paintings displayed, Tammy had several of her sculpted works  placed about the show. The admiration was mutual. I've always loved the energy and pure spirit of her earthen and glass works and have been thrilled to have several of her pieces in my home.

Tammy is a both a professional and natural organizer, so it was no surprise that she was the driving force behind the "Wylde Women", a loose group of talent and drive that was born of Southern Maryland women artists. Though my path led in another direction, Tammy keeps that energy alive and constantly moves forward in both her work and her passion.

So, when our paths crossed again at ArtoMatic 2008, Tammy again swept me up in her creative whirlwind and gave me two of her raw torso sculptures to "tattoo". Leave it to a woman with this sort organizational genius to figure out how to combine my craft with her art. She's truly a "weaver".

The result was two works, based on my own love of spiritual symbolism and traditional tattoo art. "Erzulie Freda" and "Damballah".  At this time, they reside in our private collections.

Tammy's work and blog can be found here. She's well worth a visit.

http://www.TammyVitale.com/

Roses and Ribbons

Kimberley and I spent the day finishing her antique ribbon and floral belt. She's amazing...she sat through all the color without moving a muscle. Honestly, she was sleeping at one point.

Tomorrow, I may have to kayak to work if Hannah has her way with the DC area.

Bloom Where You're Planted

After two weeks away, I'm happy to be back in my little studio at Britishink, cat

ching up on email and drawings. Traveling was nice, but a few days at home in Maryland was just as sweet and time on the Patuxent River in a kayak rivals any vacation destination. 

Hey Cyn, Where Y'at?

I finally took a real break. An honest to goodness, real live vacation type break. One that didn't involve disaster relief and rebuilding, caring for a parent, or a soccer ball. 

I didn't pick up a pencil once.

Well, okay...that's  bit of a fib. I worked on a joint project with a Maryland sculptor that's near completion. Other than that, it was simply time in the kitchen, time with the family, time with the camera, and time in New Orleans and New York. And all that time was good. And relaxing. 

I'll be back in the studio September 2nd. I miss it.

And next time, I won't wait as long to take another break. It was good for the soul.

Let me bore you with a few vacation pictures!

Candy Colored!

Isn't she lovely? 

Shawna, the model, is a beautiful muse and owner of the Passionflower backpiece we created together. I have always loved this tattoo. I admired her for her stamina during it's application and deeply appreciated her patience while we worked toward it's completion. 

And damn, she wears it well.

Recently, she went to visit photographer Stacey Barich of Atomic Cheesecake Studio

s (www.atomiccheesecakestudios.com). Stacey is a master of reproducing the classic, timeless art of American "cheesecake" photography. It's a candy colored, Aquanet, and vintage prop whirlwind of sheer fun and the lady knows her craft. 

I can't recommend a visit to Atomic Cheesecake Studios enough! To view more of her work, visit her flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/actiongirl.

I did.

Tattoo Savage Magazine, July 2008

As if we didn't have enough fun at the  2008 Baltimore Convention, celebrating Britishink's 1 year anniversary, Britishink received a nice reminder of that weekend and a few pages dedicated to the studio in July's issue of "Tattoo Savage". It's available on news stands June 3rd.

Congratulations to my friend and studio-bud, Paul Roe, for starting such a wonderful place to ply my inky trade alongside him.

Images from Artomatic

Paul and I are well into our third week at our Britishink installation at Artomatic. It's a challenge working twice as hard between two spaces, but bringing the art of the tattoo to a community of people who would never even think of walking into a tattoo studio has been rewarding. A few images from the past weekend.

An Introduction

Hello and welcome to my little blog dedicated to my work. 

I'm a tattoo artist. Yep, that's right. I draw on skin. I am forever astounded and humbled by the trust placed in me to create an image on another human being, an image they will carry throughout the rest of their lives. Whether the tattoo has great significance to it's wearer or it is worn as a simple body enhancement, I return their trust by creating the best work I possibly can and by keeping their work unique to them. When you leave my studio, you will be the only person on this earth wearing that particular image created under your skin.*

I didn't just wake up one day and decide to do this. Though I had always loved tattoo imagery (even before it was in vogue), I followed a more traditional and "acceptable" path as a professional illustrator and graphic designer for more than 20 years. When the opportunity arose to accept an very traditional apprenticeship in a very old fashioned tattoo parlor, I accepted. It was the most challenging artistic pursuit I had ever been faced with. It still is.

Fate and good fortune led me to my current position, sharing a space artist Paul Roe at his Northeast DC studio, Britishink. And it is there where I encounter people with the most unique requests and expansive ideas.

I absolutely love what I do and I am so very lucky to have a studio space at 508 H Street, NE.

If you follow this blog, you'll see why. 

Cheers for now,

Cyn

*Unless you choose some beautiful, old school Sailor Jerry, Cap Coleman or Rollo designs I have on hand. Reproductions of this art is ageless in it's historical value and folk-like beauty.