Erzulie Freda, a one-of-a-kind  collaboration between tattoo artist Cynthia Rudzis of British Ink and ceramic/clay artist, Tammy Vitale.  In the collection of Cynthia Rudzis.

Later today, Cynthia will post the following on all of her on-line spaces with a link to this blog:

"A collaboration piece of sculptor Tammy Vitale and myself. Tammy generously gave me one of her beautiful clay torsos to "tattoo", and that was when Erzulie took hold.

" Erzulie Freda is the love of beauty, love, creation, art and excess. She is perfumed and sumptuous, fine and sensuous, she called out to have this first work between women who love creation dedicated to her."

Cyn (I think most everyone else calls her Cindy, but first she was Cynthia and then Cyn for those of us in the Wylde Women – alas, after 5 years there is hardly a link left to that bunch!) and I met as a result of ArtOMatic in 2002.  At that ArtOMatic there was a sign up for a show with the Delray Artisans in Alexandria VA on mystical beast, beauties, etc.  That was the first show I was juried into, and it was there that I met Cynthia when I fell in love with the 4 2D pieces she had hanging.  Since then she has done a pet portrait of my beloved deceased pug, Emily, that was spot on right down to her one black toe nail, and this "angel" which is hanging in my dining room.

I think you can look at this picture and tell that a movement toward tattooing wasn’t hard for Cyn, who is now affiliated with Paul Roe’s British Ink Tattoo Parlor (508 H Street NE, Washington DC).  So why do I have her here in ArtOMatic land?  Because ArtOMatic is now British Ink East on the 12th floor. 

And oh do these guys know how to put a space together!  Once through the highly decorated door in this lovely corner spot, you will find yourself back in a Victorian tattoo parlor.  Paul (left here in the 12th floor parlor ) is an expert in and has a passion for all things tattoo, including instruments used to make the marks.  He has brought an extensive collection to display in the parlor and can expound on each at length.  Paul and Cyn are happy to discuss your own uniquely designed tattoo and there’s even a Ouija board in-house to help you along with your decisions.

Cyn says:  "For me, tattooing is an ageless artform that identifies the wearer with their dreams, life passages and totemic images of themselves and the world around them.  By placing these images on the skin, in an almost ritualistic fashion, body and art become one.  A tattoo doesn’t necessarily have to be infused with deep meaning, although many are, but at times it simply serves to feed the human desire to adorn one’s self for the sake of enhancing the body’s natural state.

"A tattoo is the one thing you acquire in this lifetime that will leave with you, these post-womb markings of your journey on this earth.

"A tattoo applied with careful consideration of its wearer and with craftsmanship is truly an artform, and we are grateful that the Artomatic community recognizes this."

So we were visiting there in the parlor the other day when the plan that eventually became Erzulie Freda was hatched.  And here, above, you see the result.  Yummy, yes?  Cyn also has a male torso.  I will get to keep that one and she will keep Erzulie Freda and we will thus be able to promote one another as we show.

Here is some more of her work.  You can more at her Flickr site and her Myspace site.

Tattoo Arts in America notes that "The cultural status of tattooing has steadily evolved from that of an anti-social activity in the 1960s [ed. note:  that would be me.  I got mine in 1967-69] to that of a trendy fashion statement in the 1990s [ed.note:  which is why Husband is the only one in the family that doesn’t have one…Not a bit trendy, he.  Daughter got hers in the 90s while in college figuring I couldn’t much complain….]

"During the last fifteen years, two distinct classes of tattoo business have emerged.  The first is the "tattoo parlor" that glories in a sense of urban outlaw culture; advertises itself with garish exterior signage; offers ‘pictures-off-the-wall’ assembly-line service; and often operates with less than optimum sanitary procedures.

"The second is the ‘tattoo art studio’ that most frequently features custom, fine art design; the ambiance of an upscale beauty salon; marketing campaigns aimed at middle-and upper-middle-class professionals; and ‘by appointment’ services only.  Today’s fine art tattoo studio draws the same kind of clientele as a custom jewelry store, fashion boutique, or high-end antique shop."

Welcome to ArtoMatic’s fine art tattoo studio on the 12th floor – be sure to at least stop in and say "hi."  And if you’ve a mind, go ahead and get that tattoo you’ve been thinking about all these years.

Thought for the day:  Anything capable of decay is also capable of regeneration.  Passion is a given when we are young.  As children we burn with it, unless it gets smothered or beaten out of us.  But as adults, it becomes so elusive, as if there were thin ribbony veils of music playing someplace just beyond our everyday hearing, pale and near-transparent.  How do we evoke the untamable in ourselves, the part that dreams and imagines beyond what is known?  How do we open fully to what life brings us, letting it lift us and carry us?…I come to four doors, closed at my heart:  rage, denial, inertia and loss.  I believe most of us were taught to slam these shut, turn our backs, and lean up against them in fear.  But I also believe that on the other side of these doors are passageways to our brightest fire, the choice to live fully awake and alive.  Dawn Markova,  I will not die an unlived life:  reclaiming purpose and passion