InkSpired Magazine BEST OF ISSUE | Page 83

possible. This is why it is hard for me to go to conventions and tattoo in front of people. What was the first tattoo you ever did? Can you tell us about it? I started tattooing two years ago, in the Spring of 2012. My first tattoo was on a friend that was kind enough to let me practice on her, it was a little sea star that actually looked pretty good. My second tattoo was horrible. It is funny to talk about the first approach to tattooing because when it comes to reality and you hold your tattoo machine for the first time in your hand and aim it towards someone, you don’t really know where to gain the confidence to actually do it so you really find yourself trusting your instincts. As time passes and you get more experience, those instincts become habits. How would you describe your style and which tattoo style do you like best? It is hard for me to categorize my tattooing as a certain style. But, as weird and minimalistic as this style is, it is like being asked not to be categorized into a certain conventional style pattern. I actually started to make those designs because it was weird for me that people try to categorize tattoos and other art forms. Sometimes people waste more energy when they stand in front of an art creation by trying to understand which gender it is connected to and which category it should be defined instead of enjoying the endless opportunity of having something undefined. I could say that I have that split into my designs, just like in my personality. I create those art minimalistic lines for the computer kid inside me and very detailed mandalas for the spiritual man side of me. Describe how you go about creating a tattoo from concept to finished design and also how you try to put your own unique touch on your tattoos. I make my designs according to the body structure of my clients. I can’t ever make a sketch beforehand because it could look pretty nice on paper but wouldn’t fit the body. I don’t see most of my clients before their appointments since they usually travel to get tattooed by me. My studio is located in Berlin, it is private which means that there is just one person at a time there. I don’t take walk-ins and I only tattoo one person a day. I think that it is impossible to tattoo more than one person a day as a tattoo artist that tries to go through a spiritual experience with the client and create something positive out of it from the psychological aspect, as well as the creation aspect. The more open-minded the client is, the better I can create something individual for them. This is when I feel the most comfortable with my creations. I love it the most when I can create on people that come without any ideas of what they want but are determined to get tattooed by me. I do a lot of freehand with my tattoo designs. Most of the lines are art design and the process of designing is sometimes longer than the tattooing process itself. Sometimes it is very hard to find the right lines that floats through the body, especially when we talk about geometric designs. Our bodies are not symmetrical and to try to put a symmetrical design on an unsymmetrical object usually results in it looking like a sticker. If you choose to deal with geometric designs, it has to be the right size, in the right place, and with the right movement; otherwise, it simply does not work. I experiment a lot, like on a daily basis, which is a bit risky when it comes to a nonreversible form of art, but I guess that it is the only way to develop your own style as an artist and create InkSpiredMagazine.com 81