The Tattoo World shares a lot with our FOE World.  We feel a strong connection.  Tattoo art certainly appeals to our low brow aesthetic: we have tattoos, we have friends that tattoo and we were married by a tattoo artist.  But it’s the business side of tattooing that makes my heart swoon.  The tattoo industry is built on apprenticeship.  Choosing the right teacher means more than just learning technique.  You get to study how they conduct themselves in every aspect of their work.  Making a living as a tattoo artist is built on perceived value.  The seriously tattooed don’t choose an artist based on price.  They want to work with an artist whose style they like, and a person they like.  You don’t make a 2 hour appointment for permanent body art with someone you dislike.  There is value in the relationship beyond the tattoo on your body.  The experience is enhanced because you choose to spend your time and money supporting that artist.  Story and relationship can be as important as the art.  Tattoo artists are entrepreneurs.  They have to make hundreds of decisions about their business and that shapes their reputation.  We’ve been impressed with the professionalism, passion and art from Eva Huber and Ryan Bonsall.

Eva Huber has been tattooing for 9 years and has created new works, large and small, that are influenced by wood carvings, story telling and creating a visual evolutionary process.

Ryan Bonsall has been tattooing for 2 years.  He realized a clean break in his artwork once he started tattooing.  His final application process hasn’t changed much; he still starts with lines and shapes, then adds black, then color.  But now he spends more serious time in the planning and drawing stage.  The bold, graphic, folk art precision you see in his tattoo art and flash has been loosened up and enlarged for this series.

Check out new works from Eva Huber and Ryan Bonsall and meet the artists at an opening reception on Friday January 10th from 6-9 pm.  The show remains up through Sunday February 9th.