Sitting in between both a Subway and a Chinese restaurant, this small tattoo shop "
Winky Dink Ink" has caused quite a buzz in town. It's known as one of the best tattoo shops with the best accredited tattoo artists in the Rockland County area. While it's typical for a tattoo artist to not say much nor show enthusiasm while tattooing, they would be quite surprised with what I discovered when I walked into the shop late this September.
What surprised me the most was the humility of
Matthew Graham, 18-year veteran tattoo artist who has his heart tattooed on his sleeve when it comes to his profession. As it would be typical for a tattoo artist to show enthusiasm and speak highly of all their art pieces, Matthew distinguishes himself as one artist who 'will never be satisfied until it's over'. I sat down with him recently for a brief chat, in which he surprisingly gets candid about his confidence as an artist. "There is way, way, way too much ego in this industry. It's not about making the customer 'my canvas', its about the person sitting in my chair and making them feel good", says the accredited artist who values more than the success of sketching a perfect tattoo; he values the customers who give him permission to create art on their bodies. There's not one tattoo I've ever done that I've ever been 100% satisfied with", he confesses. "I'll do something and both the client and I will like it, then I'll look at a picture of it 6 months later and I'll see ways I could've done it better". It's rare for an artist, regardless profession, to admit they are open for improvement in their work and share an emotional connection with every tattoo.
Coming in personal contact with a stranger's body is risky to many, however Graham takes it with a grain of salt. Jumpstarting his career in 1996 as a photographer-turnt-tattoo artist, he values the beauty behind the simplest art, the connection between himself and the person's artist vision before anything. Looking at some of his masterpieces on the left image, Graham takes a more characteristic approach in his art, as he specializes in bringing dark characters to life with such bright color.
Located on 54 Route 303 in Valley Cottage NY, Winky Dink Ink is open Monday through Friday from noon to 8:00pm, Saturday noon to 10:00pm, and Sundays noon to 6:00pm. All of the tattoo artists welcome anyone with open arms whether it be Bobby C, Matt Truiano, Kaiser, or Matthew Graham himself. Looking beyond the ego in the tattooing business, there are few artists such as Matt Graham who value the emotional impact tattoos have on others. If you are located in or near the Hudson Valley area and want a tattoo, call in
Winky Dink Ink at 845-353-4465 and book an appointment soon. Next time you sit in an artist's chair, never be afraid to ask them their process of creating your tattoo and the artistic ideas that go through their head. Tattooing seems to be a fun, artistic profession, but it's more complex - (Valley Cottage, NY)
I like how you kept the interview footage from being too boring by putting in still pictures of him working. The ending could've been a little smoother and not so cut off? But the interview was great and I could tell you asked him great questions to get his responses.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best videos I've seen so far. Pair with the article it just blew my mind how good it was. The only issue was the video cuts off very abruptly at the end.
ReplyDeleteI love how the whole post was set up, the video gave me a deeper insight to what kind of person he is and how he feels about his work.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the passion of this tattoo artist. I enjoyed when he spoke about being humbled by having someone chose him to tattoo their body. Certainly an enjoyable piece.
ReplyDeleteThis was great your detail in the post, and the video was great. I knew exactly what I would be looking at in the video and because he is such a caring person about what he does that is why he is the best in town and it shows in his work.
ReplyDeleteI thought the interview was great, possibly better transitions, you could tell the topic has passion by the way the tattoo artist spoke of his art, it flowed well. I like how in your written post you added photos so that the text has break, but I think less may have been more regarding how many characters the post is because I feel that when people see a lot of writing it puts them off actually reading it because it overwhelms.
ReplyDeletepersonally i don't think i want any tattoos but Winky Dinky Ink sounds like a great place to go get one you may be swaying me just a little. And i also liked some of the angles that you used to film.
ReplyDeleteMatthew seems so passionate about his craft which definitely appealed to me. Your close up shots created a relationship with the character and showed me his love for the art of tattoo's. This helps me understand you title that his heart is literally tattooed on his sleeve, because he is just that passionate. The only thing I think you could change would be more of your voice in the piece, so I can see it from the perspective of interviewer.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you were able to conduct the interview while the artist was working with a client. It is rare that you can conduct an interview in a professional environment while the interviewee is working. The writing is impeccable, and has a good mix of seriousness and light humor. The extra time you took to detail the shop, its surroundings and the people in it brings a more human element to this piece. You were able to capture the artist in his element, thus adding to your ability to explain his passion and reasoning more than just simply stating what he does.
ReplyDeleteThe setting for the interview is perfect. His answers are great and his personality really shows. The first shot is a little strange. I think a slower and wider shot of the whole store would have been better. The story and photos complemented the piece well. But, I would have liked to hear, in the story, why he made the switch from photographer to tattoo artist. Otherwise, good stuff.
ReplyDeleteYou could not have picked a better tattoo artist to interview. After watching this video, that artist makes me want to go and get a tattoo done by him, and I don't like tattoos. The story pulled me in as a viewer, it makes me want to watch this video over and over again; just listen and take in everything he said.
ReplyDeletei liked how you didn't just have him talking. you put in pictures and him actually tattooing, which made the video entertaining. i would of liked to hear from a person that he tattooed and their opinion.
ReplyDeleteyour decription introduction was great! who, what,where, when, why? you covered it all right from the getgo, and it keeps my attention when i have all that information before i begin reading further into the story. your video was good too, the different angles really kept my focus, awesome topic, interviewee was good, he really likes what he does!
ReplyDeleteYou picked a great person to interview! Matthew Graham is really humble about his artwork and really has the right perspective when it comes to tattooing. I appreciate the in-depth written article as well; it adds more to theme of tattooing being personal.
ReplyDeleteMy one complaint is the video intro being a little too fast with the panning.
I like how you actually got to interview him while he was tattooing someone. i also like the still shots of the tattoos he has done.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely one of the better articles I've seen. Full of information and put together brilliantly! Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteVery nicely written and a great choice for an interview - interviewing someone while they actually do something is almost always more interesting. I would have liked more examples of his work and your text could be more objective - it's important for a reporter to take herself out of the story as much as possible and remove the "I" from it. You can see the grade for your project in Blackboard. Thanks ~ Prof. Luther
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