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I've been told that the life of a starving artist can be a tough gig. The people
who I heard it from weren't starving, though. They weren't even artists,
just a couple of lost souls who thought they'd figured out the meaning of
life —- which they hadn't. All they’d really done was faked their way into thinking
that 'the cool' could be bought and sold for some stale ideas and a bad existential
rhetoric. At some point, though, we all have to wake up. And it's finally happening
within the tattooed-and-pierced community; the lonely artist has come
to signify a forerunner of the talented,
the hip, and the progressive, all
words that I’d willfully use to
describe Kali, resident
piercer at Fine Line
Tattoo in Dallas, Tex.
Kali is one serious
collector, with
a list of tattoo
artists a page long,
so here's what we
have time for:
her right arm
features work
by Nick Ley
from Saints and Sinners, Casey Cokrlik,Tom Yosenick, and Blake Harris (all three from
Fine Line Tattoo), Josh Hall, and Caleb Barnard from Hold Fast Tattoo; her chest piece,
"battle royale" on her left forearm, and the peacock on her left hip are all by Richard
Stell; two pieces by the magnanimous curled-mustache known as Oliver Peck from
Elm Street Tattoo; her right leg was pieced together by various artists at Fine Line,
Elm Street, Name Brand, Dixie Rose, and Mr. Lucky's; the rest (what's left of it) belongs
to Will Card from True Tattoo and Mark Galvan, also out of Elm Street Tattoo.Who
am I leaving out? Ah, Tim Hendricks, who's responsible for her "13 Pig."
Enough big words for now, though. I think it’s time to let the artist speak. Can
you hear me out there, Texas? Or do I need to turn it up?
Are you the average piercer-who-models-on-the-side who also has
the lofty aspiration of becoming a tattoo artist? Why or why not?
No, I'm not average, I'm the best. But you did hit the nail on the head, is there a need
to finish the interview? I've been piercing at Fine Line Tattoo in Garland,Tex. for about
two years. Modeling is more of a hobby. I mean, what girl doesn't like getting dressed
up and having her picture taken? As far as being a tattoo artist, I would love to be one,
but am far from it. I need to draw more, watercolor more, and just generally work
my ass off more. I don't want anything handed to me cause I am a pretty girl; I want
to work for it just like the boys do.
When it comes to art, where do you shine?
I really like to watercolor American traditional designs. In the summer I don't get to
paint so much because the shop is so much busier. I am excited about the winter so I
can start painting up a storm.
When did having tattoos begin to fit into your life and what inspired
the direction of your work? To what extent, if any, do you feel that a
person's tattoos define that person?
I got accepted into art school (which I dropped out of—go me!) and whenever I saw
kanji I thought that it meant art. Being 18, I totally thought that was for me. My sister’s
boyfriend, Mike Bernstein, tattooed me and later offered me a job as shop girl; I was
later moved up to piercing. Blake Harris of Fine Line Tattoo taught me how to watercolor;
he gave me copies of Sailor Jerry flash and would assign homework. After learning
how to watercolor, and having a little taste of the lifestyle, I knew I wanted to be tattooed.
As soon as I decided, I started getting heavily tattooed. No more quarter-sized
hip tattoos for me.
I don't think a tattoo defines a person, but I do think that people get tattooed for
different reasons—from trying to be cool to pissing off mom and dad.
Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger as the better Joker?
I totally dug Heath Ledger; he seemed way too drugged out not to like him. I really could
have used an intermission, though—pissing into a movie cup was tricky. Joking!
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