Sorry Friends, for not posting anything for you in last month, guys what to say the life got so busy that I din get time to be online to write something for you. The fact was that I had been on a trekking trip to the hills of Kullu-Manali, India, and there was no cyber café over there to post something for you. Anyways, please forgive me and read further an interview with Anabi of ‘Anabi-Tattoo’, Szczecin, Poland.
Eloping from home to become a tattooist is something interesting and this interesting story is about Anabi, who ran from home at the age of eighteen and today he is a master of tattoos. Know his work and him better in this interview.
Disha Singh: Let’s start with your first rendezvous with the art. When did it started and how?
Anabi: Since I was a kid I used to like drawing 🙂 I was reading a lot of books and comic books, drawing my favourites heroes and make my own histories 🙂
Disha Singh: What’s the inspiration behind your creative tattoo designs?
Anabi: Inspirations for me is a lot of things… paintings, sketches, photography, digital art, etc…
Disha Singh: Are you a perfectionist? Are there any tattoos, paintings, etc. that you wish you could change?
Anabi: My clients know that I will sit with them until every little thing will be done as good as I can 🙂
I finish work in first approach very seldom, I spread sessions on instalments most often, I have perfect control as tattoo over due to healed and where I need to correct something to make him beautiful.
Disha Singh: How did the idea of becoming a tattoo artist come to your mind? Were your parents comfortable with your decision to become a tattoo artist?
Anabi: When I was 18 years old I ran away from home, I have taken up residence in catholic internat, one of colleague had self made tattoo machine,
He knew that I possess drawing skills and he asked me about design for him.
I looked for a while how he tattooed himself, then I said “give me a try”
…and that’s how it began 🙂
Then I searched hints in tattoo studios.
Between 2002 – 2004 I was practicing two years in “alien tattoo studio run by Joseph” in my hometown – Szczecin. Eight months ago I opened my own tattoo studio, and it’s first custom tattoo in Poland.
I don’t have albums with tattoo flashes, every design is individually made for each client.
Disha: What we see Anabi doing when he is not tattooing?
Anabi: I spend whole day in my tattoo shop…when I’m not tattooing, I spend my time at drawing, making new tattoo designs, working in gym and spend some time with my girlfriend and friends.
Disha: Which machine and ink do you use?
Anabi: I use several machines… at this moment my favourite is Shader from SUNSKIN, I use it for colour works too. Another good for colour/shader machine is “SWAN” from “WORKHOUSE”
For outlines I’m using custom machine from “VIKING TATTOO POLAND”
which I won as an award in contest for best tattoo flash.
Last one is shader from our live tattooing legend Piotr Zurawski, who got first tattoo shop in Poland.
Ink that I use is Intenze and Starbrite for colour works and Indian ink and destilled water for shading.
Lately, I bought set of 21 ink concentrates made by Waldi Wahn from Shockin’ City.
Disha: Which is the strangest request you have ever had for a tattoo?
Anabi: 38 year old woman want a cobra on her face. She always dreamed about it, so I did it 🙂
Disha: How much does a piece cost?
Anabi: It’s belong from piece 😉
If It’s a piece that need more then two session, I Usually take charge by session…
How much is belong how long session is, and how big is progress at session.
Disha: How have things changed regarding your inking over the years?
Anabi: Over years? I just started and I’ve got a looong way to go 🙂
Disha: Who is Anabi in flesh and blood?
Anabi: You need to ask my friends!
Disha: Finally, what suggestions do you have for the newbie in the industry and especially to those who want to get tattooed?
Anabi: Choose good artist and show him your satisfaction with a fat tip 😉
Nick Baxter one of the iconic figures of tattoo industry was interviewed by Piercingntattoos.com to reveal his mind and soul inside and outside the tattooing world. He’s not only a tattooist but an actor, a painter, photographer as well as a writer. He’s the most eligible bachelor in the tattooing industry, who’d not like if you won’t wish him on his birthday i.e. on 5th September 😉 Born at New Haven, Connecticut, now plans to move from Transcend Tattoo, CT, to Austin, Texas, with his friend and fellow artist Jeff Ensminger, Dallas.
This winner of many tattoo convention awards: best sleeve, tattoo of day, etc., will be now seen off and on in CT. Let’s hear more about him in his own words in this interview.
Disha Singh:It’s been about eight years in the tattoo industry, how does it feel and how have things changed regarding your inking over the years?
Nick Baxter: Being 8 years into it feels great, I feel like I have accomplished so much of what I originally set out to do. I love having a network of friends and colleagues whom I travel the world with, work on fun art with, help inspire, and be inspired by. Pretty much everything has changed since I started, it’s completely different now‹a lot has changed in the industry, too, it’s really exploded in popularity and talent level. However, in some ways nothing has changed – I still feel like I’m just me, doing what I love to do, just like always. I till have so much to learn and experience and I still feel young, and like a beginner at times, because there are still many goals I haven’t reached yet and aspects of my art and technique I want to improve.
Disha Singh: How did it feel when you did the first tattoo?
Nick Baxter: It was completely nerve-wracking. I was scared and excited, and overwhelmed with all the things you need to remember to do while tattooing. It felt great though, I had a real sense of accomplishment.
Disha: What’s the inspiration behind your creative tattoo designs?
Nick: It could be anything, really. Life in general is inspiration, all the experiences and memories and emotions and thoughts and interesting things that comprise it. I try to tap into whatever type of inspiration I need for the particular project I’m working on.
Disha: Who are some of your influences, inside and outside of tattooing?
Nick: I have many influences and try to be eclectic, so it’s hard to form any kind of complete list, so just a portion of them I can think of right now are Salvador Dali, J.P. Witkin, Simen Johan, Mark Kessel, H.R. Giger, Guy Aitchison, Tim Hawkinson, Nikko Hurtado, Cindy Sherman, Richard Estes and all Photorealist painters, Charles Santarpia, Megan Merrell, Todd Schorr, Alex Grey, Caravaggio, Michaelangelo, Ron English, Eric White, Leonardo DaVinci, Adrian Dominic, Jeff Ensminger, Russell Mills.
Disha: In a true sense you are an artist who paints body and canvas, as well as a photographer. Please can you throw some light and reveal yourself in all these different roles?
Nick: These are all different aspects of my one driving creative energy. I get to express different parts of myself in each medium, and explore different themes and concepts. I also get to develop and refine different artistic disciplines and physical skills, or crafts. My painting and photography is very meticulous, refined, almost clinical in its approach to technique and subject matter, which appears often to be the opposite of those qualities‹very organic, warm, visceral. My tattooing is more spontaneous, loose, and holistic in its approach.
Disha: You have received many awards, what are the memorable conventions you’ve gone to and is there any target in your mind to be achieved?
Nick: I’ve always loved attending the Hell City tattoo conventions every year, because they are really well put together, organized, fun, and especially accommodating to the artists. I don’t have a target in my mind to achieve at conventions aside from just having a good time and producing some good work if I can.
Disha: What’s your imagination like? How long will you sit and think about a tattoo design before you actually ink it? Do you just bang it out in one shot or do you chip away at it on paper until it’s perfect and then on skin?
Nick: My imagination is a constant back and forth tug of war between the right and left brains, opposing urges for order and rationality and structure, and the opposite attributes of chaos, feeling, intuition. It’s like a never ending lottery-ball machines I definitely feel like I think too much. My tattoo conception process usually involves much more thinking at first than actual drawing. I’ll picture things in my mind, then look at reference materials for ideas and inspiration, then when I sit down to draw it usually gets completed all at once. I don’t bother with making the drawing perfect, in order to allow myself the freedom to create more on skin, and leave the tattooing process open to intuition and spontaneity.
Disha: Are you a perfectionist? Are there any tattoos, paintings, etc. that you wish you could change?
Nick: I am, for better and for worse, an unrelenting perfectionist. There’s a saying that makes me laugh at myself that goes: Perfect isn’t good enough. I analyze everything after I do it and always find something I could improve or try to do differently.
Disha: How much do you charge for a piece?
Nick: I charge an hourly rate for tattoos, and my paintings are reasonably priced as far as fine art prices are concerned, considering the amount of time and effort I put into them.
Disha: What are your likes and dislikes?
Nick: I like the outdoors and nature, creativity, positivity, problem solving, meeting challenges and goals, learning, nice people, animals, hardcore/punk music, freedom, living a vegan straightedge lifestyle. I generally really dislike any form of coercion and violence in order to control other people, or animals, as well as war and fighting, intolerance, suffering and despair, and all those associated ills of the world.
Disha: How did the idea of becoming a tattoo artist come to your mind? Were your parents comfortable with your decision to become a tattoo artist?
Nick: I was always fascinated by body art because it was rebellious, somewhat mysterious, and a really unique way to express yourself. I started to become interested in pursuing it in my mid-teens, and my parents were very unsupportive of that at the time. I think they were uncomfortable with me being a tattoo artist at first, but once they saw that it could be a legitimate, respectable career that could do positive things for me and my life, their opinions changed drastically. Now they support and respect me.
Disha: What we see Nick doing when he is not tattooing?
Nick: Usually I’m making some kind of other art, like painting, drawing, photography, or writing. I also like to experience the outdoors, play sports, read, listen to music, go to hardcore/punk shows, go to art galleries and museums, eat awesome vegan food, meditate, hang out with my cats and human friends.
Disha: Which machine and ink do you use?
Nick: I use mostly Pulse tattoo machines, and 3 brands of tattoo inks: Eternal, Starbrite, and Unique.
Disha: What do you think about FREEDOM -2 ink?
Nick: I’ve never tried it, and haven’t heard much about it. It seems like a great idea. I don’t have much interest in it as of yet, but I am curious to see if it works and if it stays looking great over time.
Disha: Finally, what suggestions do you have for the newbie in the industry and especially to those who want to get tattooed?
Nick: For new tattooists or apprentices, I recommend to stay focused on your art at all costs, be willing to put hours of every single day into study and practice, and stay disciplined. Be honest with yourself and develop a good sense of self-critique. Be hungry for knowledge, but don’t be too proud or afraid to go back to basics whenever necessary, whenever you feel stuck, or frustrated. For potential tattoo collectors, I recommend to be patient and do your research and homework first. You can read an article I co-wrote just for new tattoo collectors, at this address: http://www.offthemaptattoo.com/get-the-perfect-tattoo.html
Thanks for your precious time Nick, it was great to know your better!
The big grandmother of tattoo industry Shanghai Kate Hellenbrandhas joined hands with Art N Body, Williamsville, NY. It is a one stop to ensure your choice of body art as well as clothings from various eminent brands like Ed Hardy, Sailor Jerry, Suicide Girls, Affliction and Black Market and more.
Kate has been tattooing since 1971 in all styles whether custom or classic. She has worked with Sailor Jerry Collins of Hawaii, Don Ed Hardy, Jack Rudy, Bill Funk and many others. Very soon you’ll see her personal clothing line hitting the store.
Know more about her new apprentice, Art N Body, from the following interview.
Disha Singh:Can you take me through the evolution of Art N Body?
Shanghai Kate: Art N Body was conceived in the Buffalo region to give the public a new and better idea about tattooing. As tattooing becomes more mainstream, we felt there was a need to satisfy more mainstream clients who were not satisfied with the options they had in the past. Tattoo Shops have had a somewhat less than satisfactory image and there is room for improvement and we wanted to be the leader in that movement. By placing our shop in a suburban setting, we hope to draw clients that normally would not visit a traditional “tattoo shop” in an urban area, while still being located where tried-and-true tattoo clients would still visit.
Our goal was to offer the highest quality tattoos and piercings as possible. After all, if the quality of the work is substandard, sales would suffer. Along with the highest quality of work, we would offer the highest sterilization protocols. Our shop would exceed all local, state and Federal standards, as well as OSHA regulations. All artists would be fully licensed and would continuously attend health related seminars. Along with the tattoo and piercing services, we would offer a great number of tattoo-based clothing lines and accessories for our clients to purchase in an upscale retail environment. The store would also sell artwork by local artists of all kinds as well as music by local musicians.
Disha: What’s an ideal connection for you, between you and your client I mean?
Kate: To develop a harmonious long-term relationship while offering the highest artistic completion of their projects performed with the best state-of-the-art technological advances under the safest protocols known. We want to preserve the client’s vision while adhering to the body’s dictates for the best result over time. We want our clients to feel comfortable in a friendly atmosphere while maintaining a strong professional attitude.
Disha:You say you’ve “combined cutting-edge equipments and sterilization procedures with a comfortable, creative environment,” can you please detail it? For the benefit of our readers.
Kate: We have spent the first year of our growth investigation and pursuing the best hospital-style sterilization components to incorporate into our “clean room.” Our artists are well versed in all the latest protocols and study Universal Precautions on a routine basis. We spare no expense in keeping a store of single-service, preventative safeguards in the studio and our products for tattooing are the best, most investigated items on the market. Including our inks, needles, tubes, machines. We have our fingers on the pulse of what’s new out there and continue to purchase and grow with the best our industry has to offer. We spend time investigating the newest developments. At the same time, we don’t want our clients to feel they’ve entered a “hospital” or “clinic” . . . one look at our photos shows a relaxed and gorgeous interior geared toward fun and bright retail items. It’s a store where you can come to shop, search and learn. While we’re deadly serious about what we do, we don’t want to browbeat anyone into anything. This is a great business. We want to have fun.
Disha:Art N Body opened its doors one year back. Looking down the line, what are your hopes for the space and business?
Kate: We have so many great ideas to bring into fruition. We can’t let too much out of the bag but, while our first year in business has been fraught with lessons and paying dues, we think the worst of it is over. We believe in our shop and concept and what we want to do and we think the community will respond because we have some great things on board.
Disha:How do names like Ed Hardy, Jerry Sailor, Suicide Girls, etc. are associated with you.
ArtNBody: Some of the names you mention are directly linked to our shop because we have Shanghai Kate Hellenbrand working for us now and she spent the earlier part of her career working with Sailor Jerry, Ed Hardy and others. This is an incredibly personal connection, no other shop in the world can make that same boast. She is intimately involved with both of those names and she brings her own collection of images with her. And we expect to develop a Shanghai Kate clothing line in the future in the same grain as the aforementioned names. She also brings with her many personal stories and books . . . and we expect to include these in our future marketing. The other names are direct off-shoots of the very popular Hardy and Jerry empires. We do carry their line and we look to other cutting edge clothing to incorporate in the future.
Disha:There are various artists under one roof. Do you guys push each other to grow as artists? Or, be honest, you’re just too busy competing with each other?
ArtNBody: We very much push each other to grow and become better at what we do. We are not competitors. We believe that may have been the climate of the past, but we now live in an age of communication. Why would we harbor secrets or techniques to use only in our own little cubicle when we could all work more smoothly, more enthusiastically and more efficiently if we all share? Competition can lead to price gouging within the team, that leads to paranoia and turf guarding that leads to the sociopathic personalities we’ve all come to know and love in some of the less progressive shops. That is really OLD School and we want to be the wave of the future. Sharing creates fun creates money creates happy artists, happy clients and a wonderfully informed public.
Here, are the names of the crew members of Art N Body:
Shanghai Kate Hellenbrand, The Manager
Bob Bieber
Heidi Serth
Loren Webster
John Erickson
Sarah Grabowski, Retail/Counter
Bill Robins, Chief Operating Officer
Check out our Image Galleryfor some selected Tattoos from the great Tattoo artists of Art N Body!
