CLICK HERE to download an MP3
audio feature on tattoo artist Chris Dingwell and client Ryan Keough's
ongoing collaboration. |
Sanctuary at 31 Forest Avenue, Portland |
Inside the shop and gallery |
Artist Chris Dingwell adds color to
the piece |
Ryan Keough is back in the chair |
Aroundmaine spent an afternoon at Sanctuary Tattoo
and Art Gallery, voted "Best Tattoo Studio" by the Portland
Phoenix and its readers. We spoke with co-owner Chris Dingwell about the
rising popularity of the art form, collaborating with clients, and where
he finds his inspiration.
This is a great space -- probably
not at all what most people imagine when they think of a "tattoo
parlor."
Dingwell: When we moved in here, we each
took control over designing and configuring our space to our needs and
our wants and so each of the spaces is very individual. We think of it
much more as an artists' co-op than as a regular studio. We're partners
and we work together and each one of us has a place to do our own thing,
in our own way, and at the same time we all benefit from being able to
do that together, cooperatively.
How do people choose an artist when
they come into the gallery?
Dingwell: When clients come in and they're
looking to do a particular project, often they will look through the portfolios
and they'll get an idea for themselves who's art work they like the best…we're
not competing against each other for the same clients because the clients
are finding the artists that work well for them, for the projects they
want to do.
With any client, you can't judge a book
by its cover. You never know when something that seems really small and
really simple or straightforward on the outside is actually a really big
deal to somebody on the inside.
Are tattoo artists a tight-knit community?
Dingwell: There's always been a tight-knit
community of people in tattooing across the country. You see that a great
deal at tattoo conventions, such as the Mad Hatter's convention that happens
here in Portland every year. The number of tattoo conventions has multiplied
exorbitantly…now there's 2 or 3 to choose from on any given weekend
somewhere in the country or somewhere around the world. The face of them
has changed, but it's still a great place to go and catch-up with friends
in the business and other people who know what they're doing. It's in
many ways, one of the only chances we get to all get together and really
scope out what each other is doing and look at different equipment and
just feed ourselves that way.
I understand that--for some people--there's
an addictive quality to getting tattooed.
Dingwell: It's certainly not a chemical
thing, it's not like being addicted to coffee or cigarettes or what have
you, but I think that there is sort of an emotional rush that comes from
doing something like this and I think that even some people who are not
really conscious of the emotional process that they're going through,
they still experience a sense of rejuvenation and a sense of claiming
yourself. A lot of people don't get tattooed for the supposed permanence
of being tattooed, but for most people who do get tattooed, that's an
amazing thing -- it's an amazing thing to be able to do something to beautify
your own body or to mark a particular part of your personal history for
the rest of your entire life. And it's a pretty amazing process to go
through to do that for somebody else.
How much has the process of getting
tattooed changed over the years?
Dingwell: The fundamental technology
of tattooing really hasn't changed much in the last hundred years…most
of the changes have come about not because of technological advances,
as much as because of artistic advances. That change is not only because
the artists are getting better, but because the public is becoming more
demanding. At the same time, certainly the quality of the inks available
to us are much better than they would have been 25 years ago, the quality
of machines and equipment, as well as the quality of the safety standards
that we follow.
Where do you find inspiration for
some of your tattoo artwork?
Dingwell: Everything's an inspiration.
I think that's true for any artist. The inspiration that you get from
working as a tattoo artist isn't any different than the kind of inspiration
you get from creating any other kind of art. Personally, at this point,
I hardly ever look at tattoo magazines anymore, but I look at art magazines,
I look at painting magazines. I continue to paint a great deal...to work
on that side of my brain because that feeds what I do.
CLICK
HERE to visit the Sanctuary Tattoo and Art Gallery web site
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