Get Ink Midwest:
Featured Studios/Artists:
Featured Articles:
Search the Gallery:
Search for Studios:
![[Valid RSS]](images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
September, 2008 Feature - Miss Mae
Battle Creek, Michigan Is Home To A Very Talented Artist!
Q: Let’s start with the basics – who you are, where you’re from, where you tattoo – the usual.
A: Well, I have been tattooing at Old Anchor Tattoo, where I got my start, since 2006. I have a super awesome teacher, Crab Reagan, who has been tattooing for over 17 years. Though my basic apprenticeship is over, I still learn and grow from his guidence and the experience I have from working with other artists. And oh yeah, we are located at 2920 W. Mighigan Ave. in Battle Creek, Michigan (plug, plug, plug....). As far as my artistic background is concerned I have, like many artists, been developing my skills all my life. For the most part I was fairly independent throughout high school, our art program was almost nothing but I did have a great instructor. I attended the world reknown Interlochen Center for the Arts the summer of 2003 where I was a painting major and I also majored in photography for two years at Kellogg Community College.
Q: Sounds like you’ve got a pretty extensive background in the arts! Can you tell us a little more about Interlochen Center for the Arts and how you got involved in that? How has it affected your tattooing?
A: Oh man! Interlochen probably saved my life back then. Interlochen is an arts academy that nurtures the talents of students grades K-12, though it is more especially geared for high schools students. It explores all arts; music, painting, drawing, writing, theatre, dance. I lived there for two months and went to classes in painting and drawing everyday. It is actually quite expensive and I would not have been able to go if it wasn't for my teachers in high school raising $3,000 for me to go. Interlochen couldn't have come at a better time in my life. At that time, I was very much the black sheep and wasn't social at all. I was a bit grown up for my age and desired to move along a lot furthur in life than maybe I was ready for at the time, but regardless I was pretty depressed and wanted to be on my own. I was able to get a taste of that when I went there. It was a humbling experience to say the least. If you look at my work from that summer it was actually kinda crappy. I went from a big fish in a little pond to a tiny tadpole in an ocean of amazing artists. It was incredibly frustrating seeing all the other work, using much higher quality materials, dealing with artisitc concepts that had never been introduced to me, and shorter deadlines. It forced me to work up from ground zero and almost relearn everything I thought I knew. Fortunately, it helped me mature as an artist and with the tools I learned I was able to come back stronger than ever, ready to tackle the challenges life would through at me.
It helped prepare me for tattooing mostly in my color theory. I learned more in depth how to mix colors and know what colors work where. As many tattooists shade with tons of black to make colors darker, I make use of complimentary colors to create contrast and use darker versions of the color or other analogous colors to create the depth in shadows. I think that is what defines my personal style is my desire to take even the most simple pieces and take it to that next level with color.
Interlochen actually has a great website, interlochen.org. I highly recommend it to any young person. People who haven't attended can never truly understand the magic of that place and I guarentee, double your money back, that it will completely change your life artistically and personally.
Q: Has your photography background helped your tattooing in any way? Do you feel like you have more of a trained eye for composition due to your background in other mediums?
A: Wow, photography was another big experience for me. As Interlochen helped my technique, photography helped me develop my artistic voice and how to develop conceptual ideas. My professor and fine art photographer, Ryan Flathau, was just amazing. He always pushed me to what seemed to be the very edge only to find that there were miles to go in what I could say in my work. It challenged me to go from overstated, mediocre images to more simple images, seductively telling the viewer what i was trying to accomplish. I feel as though some people go way over the top and try to mash way too many ideas into one small piece. What I try to help my clients understand is that simplicity in a statement can be even more moving and just as pertinent than a hodge podge of birth dates and death dates, all ten of their grandkids names and a mess of tribal. Personal asthetic is one thing, if you like something you like it and there is nothing wrong with that. But all that confusion can be distracting and take away from what you're trying to say with your piece.
Q: Have you always been interested in tattooing? Was tattooing always your goal or did you get into the industry by some sort of happy accident? How did you get your start?
A: Kinda? Not so much of an accident, just a delayed reaction I suppose. There was a number of articles featuring my work in my local paper, and you can look back to one from 2003 and there is a little snippet of me saying I was interested in tattoo art. I would have said more, but at that point I knew my parents wouldn't have been too crazy about it. I did't think I actually would end up doing it. Honestly I remember flirting with the idea of it because it was suggested to me by a heavily tattooed friend I was seeing at the time. So impressionable at that age... sigh. Don't mind my tangents, please.
I was getting my second and third tattoos at the shop I now work at and mentioned to my artist my interest and he suggested I bring in a portfolio to the boss. I did and, poof! Here I am talking to you. I had a tremendous amount of help from the guys at the shop. They gave me tons of priceless advice and helped picked me up when I was falling off the wagon. Its been an exciting and enlightening journey. Its helped mold me into a much stronger person and pretty much changed the person I was into something better.
Q: You show a pretty diverse range in your tattoo portfolio – portraits, photo-realistic, old school and traditional, etc… do you lean in any one direction more than another?
A: Yeah, that is the disadvantage to not working in a huge metropolis. You don't get opportunities everyday to do really cool things. And being so new at the game it takes a hot second to develop the portfolio that you have in you. But its always fun regardless. My background in art is photo realism. I spend a lot of my spare time working on highly detailed portraits. So of course, now that my abilities are growing I am transferring that into my tattooing. But I love the good ol' faithful, traditional. For me it is super fun for me to take a break from the the real world, which can be mentally tiring, and work in those high contrast colors and fatty outlines. I adore the look of it and I personally feel like I am a throwback from the 50's so it feels like home. Come to my apartment someday, and you'll see. I have a fetish for retro furniture and fabrics.
Q: Do you pretty much stick to Battle Creek as far as tattooing’s concerned or do you ever get out to conventions and shows? Have you won any industry awards or been published in any industry magazines?
A: Our Battle Creek studio is definitely my home. We also have another shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that I work at once a week. I look forward to the future though, and getting the opportunity to work at a convention.
Q: You seem to have a flair for modeling! Where do you get your inspiration for your pinup photos? What photographers do you enjoy working with?
A: Well, I'm definitly not the next Heidi Klum and you certainly won't be seeing me in the next Victoria's Secret catalog, but I do love it, yes! It's fun to play dress up and feel gorgeous for an hour. I did some modeling for other students in college and I did a lot of self portraiture in my own work, so I'm used to being in front of the lens. My photographer is Dave Melges who never ceases to stun me with his abilities and sensibility to beauty. www.myspace.com/fotografika
Most of my ideas I come up with in my head just from my knowledge of pin up art. Alberto Vargas and Gil Elvgren are a couple classic painters that come to mind. There is an amazing pin up photographer that I love, Viva Van Story. She's the shit. Some models that inspire my look are, Bernie Dexter, Dita Von Tease, Sabina Kelly, and anyone rockabilly. Slap pink, gold, and leopard print on it and you're good to go!
Q: Over the past twenty years or so, the tattooing industry has seen quite an increase in female artists. And strong female artists at that! Do you find that being a woman in the tattoo industry brings with it more advantage or disadvantage?
A: Let me start by saying that if you can tattoo like a badass, you're a badass regardless of you genitals. However, there are definitely more advantages than disadvantages. I have only had one dumb ass laugh in my face telling me women don't tattoo and that I was the secretary. The general response with guys is "Im the hot tattoo chick, whoa, that's cool." I think, especially in my area of Michigan that it carries a bit of mystique along with it. Because people don't see it much and with the popularity of female artists on those reality shows I recieve a good amount of surprise and positivity. I have had guys want me to work on them because I am a women due to either the location on the body or just trying to get their flirt on for a couple hours.
Q: Do you find that, as a female artist, you draw a larger number of female clients or do you feel that you get the same general clientele as the male artists you work with?
A: I don't think that there is a huge difference really. There are women that want the female artist for the sake of comfortability or because they want that feminine touch. In the end, male or female, no one says they don't want me to work on them because I am a women, so whether or not there are advantages, I don't get too concerned about it.
Q: You’ve mentioned that you use Neuma Tattoo Machines. What turned you on to pneumatic machines as opposed to electro-magnetic machines? Assuming you started out, as most artists do, with the traditional electro-magnetic machines, what differences have you experienced that made you cross over to the Neuma machine? Do you still use the electro-magnetic machines at all?
A: Neumas rock! Coil machines will always be a traditional and reliable stand by in the tattoo industry, but I don't think I would ever go back. I started out with coils and eventually my boss turned to the pneumatic. A few months later I turned too and oh god was I blown away! There are so many advantages with the Neumas. Personally, I have so many problems with the big heavy coils because they were painful to use. When I was a kid I suffered, and still suffer, a compond fracture in my elbow, my tattooing arm no less. So a lot of repetitive motion partnered with the weight of my machines and my little girl hands caused me a lot of problems in my entire arm and the muscles in my upper back. With the Neumas I avoid all of that because they are like tattooing with a pencil in weight. The difference in my comfort was tremendous. They are virtually maintenance free, no concern with tuning or fussing with it, so I can focus on what I'm doing and obsess over my work instead of the machine. They are completely autoclavable, which is an exciting new twist on the modern tattoo machine. In the shop I work in we are uber anal about cleanliness, and the option of taking that next step to sterilize my machine is a comforting piece of mind. Plus, I know this sounds way too girly, but they are pink, and that is just fucking cool. I love taking a very masculine thing and adding the juztaposition of the feminine.
Q: Where do you get your artistic inspiration? Are there other tattoo artists out there that push you to move in new directions?
A: Im always checking out other people's work to see what's out there and I love to watch other people at work. You can learn so much by watching other knowledgeable artists. I'm a big fan of Nate Beavers of Texas. I had my forearm worked on by him and the also amazing Sweet Lorraine, also of Texas, at the Motor City convention this year and had a blast watching them work together. I also look up to Todd Noble for his traditional work and as always the phenomenal work of Mike Devries, Shane ONeil, and Nikko Hurtado. On a artistic level, Shawn Barber never ceases to stun me.
Q: If you could retrace your steps that have led you to where you are today – what would you do differently? How could you have prepared yourself better for the career path you’ve found yourself in – and what advice would you give someone who’s just starting out or thinking about breaking into the industry?
A: I believe in relentless passion for what you do. There were a couple times in the begining that things got rough and I thought about quitting. But I got through it and wanted it bad enough to suck it up and keep trying. Everyone messes up from time to time, but I wouldn't be what I am now if it weren't for the struggle. I would never change that. You can never fully prepare for a venture like a career choice. I had many unrelated experiences that helped me become better at tattooing, so it's all about how you do it not what you do.
For anyone trying to break into the industry I would definitely say do your homework. Search for good shops. Look at portfolio's for good consistant work. Find a teacher who has been tattooing for at least ten years or more. Look for shops that have good morals and high standards. I can't express enough the importance of cleanliness competence by being certified in Bloodborne Pathogens and the Principles of Infection Control. And stay humble. Always know that you are only as good as you let yourself become and that there is always something more to learn and get better at if you've been tattooing for 2 years or twenty years.
See More of Miss Mae's Works in her Featured Artist Section
Read Last Month's Article Featuring Wadeframe Custom Tattoo Machines