They Built That City on Ink & Soul

It’s not as if this was my first time at the rodeo, but it certainly was my best.

There aren’t many of you that are reading this that don‘t already know what I'm referring to, but for those of you that have been hibernating under a rock for the past several months and not reading my blog and/or facebook updates (shame on you by the way), I have been counting down for my appointment to get inked by celebrated Atlanta master tattoo/fine artist, Miya Bailey.

Featured in the April 2009 issue of Inked magazine that I picked up at Books-A-Million:

This tattoo has been a long time coming. It was actually my third attempt (the first two fails, my fault, for being unable to make the appointment--a word of advice: never make plans to get something done, when you’re with someone else, and not the one doing the driving). Third time’s a charm I guess…and speaking of 3's, I made my appointment and paid my deposit three months ago, at the time, August 1st was his first available appointment, and coincidentally, his last...as he is taking the whole month of August off for a much-needed vacation. So, yesterday was my day, and I could barely contain myself. See for yourself:






I have to admit, I was a little nervous before I walked into City of Ink (also known as C.O.I). Not about the tattoo, but, since I was by myself, I just wondered if I’d feel awkward. Those feelings went out the door, as I walked in. Looking around the shop, I just felt at home, like I’d been there a million times before.

I was greeted by Samba, the shop manager, who I’d spoken with a few times prior, in reference to my appointment (who is also another talented artist-he was gracious enough to show me his sketch book as I waited). Something I realized almost immediately, is that C.O.I is a business, and though its staff treats it as such, they’ve mastered the art of balance. I was impressed, to say the least.

With the initial paperwork out of the way, I sat and waited, like a child waiting to open that first gift on Christmas morning. I noticed a guy with a camera--setting it up, cleaning his lenses, etc. I wondered what he was doing there…and my interest was further piqued when another guy showed up with more equipment. A third party to this crew, a young woman, approached me and my question was soon answered. She handed me her card, sat down, shook my hand, and introduced herself as Quintessence (aka Quin), a producer for dapa Entertainment, LLC.


It turns out, they are there to capture some footage of Miya for a film called “I Am A Dream Chaser”, a documentary spotlighting talented individuals, in pursuit of their dreams. They were there to witness the fruit of his passion--his art, and since I happened to be his canvas for the day, I was asked to participate (interview, etc). Naturally, I obliged.

Miya arrived, and I knew it as soon as he walked through the door, rocking a fedora, his signature specs, a black tee, fatigue shorts, and an honest smile. Sure, I knew what he looked like from pics on myspace, his blog, and facebook…but even if I hadn’t, I’d have known. His presence was felt. He threw me a wave, walked over, sat down and shook my hand. “You excited?” …I guess it was pretty obvious, like I said before, I could barely contain myself. Next, he asked me what I had in mind for the tattoo. I knew this was coming…

The first time I contacted Miya about doing a tattoo for me (about 2-3 years ago), he told me the process of making an appointment, I asked if I should tell him what I wanted to get, or, if I should bring something with me, here’s a paraphrase of his reply… “all I need you to bring, is yourself…I don’t like to know ahead of time, because I don’t want to be influenced with any preconceptions, I like to meet my clients, talk with them a bit, and build their tattoo FOR them, that way it’s completely unique to them, and they don’t have to worry about anyone else having the same tattoo.” You could have called me Katrina, 'cause I was blown away, to say the least…but in a good way. I’ve had fifteen prior tattoos, and I’ve never once had a tattooist tell me that…but then, that’s another thing, Miya is a tattoo ARTIST, and not a tattooist. And in case you didn’t know, there is a difference. You see, a tattooist, will tattoo anything on you that you want-Jimini Cricket, Bugs Bunny, or the Budweiser logo, if that’s what you fancy. A tattoo ARTIST will only tattoo on you, what they themselves have created. Miya, creates art, he refuses to RE-create it …so if you want something that’s already been done, though fully capable, he’s not the guy for that job.

So, when he asked what I had in mind, there was only one thing: music. I explained that music is my passion, and I wanted for this tattoo, to be a reflection of that, a testament of sorts. He nodded as if what I’d just said was food that he’d just chewed up, swallowed, and digested.

The only other input I had, was this...

For those that don’t know, I had already decided to get my shoulder done, and wanted it to cover an existing tattoo that I’d gotten almost 10 years ago. At eighteen, getting a tattoo of the Playboy bunny with “Playful” written underneath , on my chest (as birdish as it is) seemed like a good idea…at twenty-eight, not so much.

After the idea and the placement was discussed, he got up, and went over to talk to the film crew. He came back once more “ok…so, I need you to be thinking of some elements of music…notes, microphone…do you sing?”

I explained that I don’t sing, but I do write music, and try my hand at guitar. The word guitar’ had barely fallen off my lips, when he yelled out to Samba, “yo Samba, print me out a picture of a guitar for a reference, an electric guitar.” And that was it. He set up his station, and then he was ready for me. Film crew in place, we began.

Every other tattoo I’ve ever had, has been drawn out on transfer paper, and then placed on the skin. It shouldn’t really have been a surprise that that’s not how Miya operates. No, he took out a red sharpie, and a black sharpie, and proceeded to draw the image from his mind, directly on my skin. Miya Bailey doesn’t need transfer paper. As it was explained to the film crew, the red lines represent ideas…things he may or may not do, the black lines represent the definite, and serve as guidelines. When he was done sketching, I could tell by the looks on the faces around me, that I was going to be pleased. “Aight, you can take a look at it” …only, I didn’t want to. Strange as it may sound, I am so throroughly impressed with Miya’s art, that I trusted him enough to put it permanently on my skin, without my prior approval. I actually wanted it to be a complete surprise. He laughed a flattered laugh, and smiled a modest smile…“it would make me feel more comfortable if you would look at it…” and so, I did. Having already seen the the stock image of the electric guitar that he was using as a reference, I truly understood, as I stood there in the mirror, his strict rule of not recreating…this guitar on my skin, looked nothing like the guitar on the paper. It was more than I had even hoped for…I gave the 'thumbs up', and we moved on.

During the sketching, I was able to stay covered up, but when it was time to tattoo, Miya told the film crew that they’d have to leave so that he could give me the privacy I needed in case I had to be exposed. He put up some partitions, yelled out to Samba once more, “yo Samba, throw on that Coldplay”, and with that, the needle's buzz began. He inked, and we chatted through Coldplay..about his sixteen years of tattooing, the clothing line he's about to launch, the coffee table book he's just a month or so from having completed for publication (which will be available at major bookstores-Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc.)...the difference between creating a tattoo for a woman, and one for a man, and other ranging topics of conversation. And then it got really good. One of my favorite Kings of Leon songs started to play:


This reminded him of my ultimate favorite: PURPLE RAIN. “Yo samba, you got that Purple Rain?! Put that shit on!” Really?!?! I couldn’t have predicted that it would have gotten any better, but it did. Seriously?!?! Not only am I in Atlanta at City of Ink, in Miya Bailey’s chair as he’s tattooing an electric guitar on me…but now, it’s to the best soundtrack of all time?!? We didn’t chat much after that, we didn’t need to-- Prince’s viral guitar riffs, the matching intensity on Miya’s face, and the nod of his head, all spoke volumes.

After a couple hours, the needle stopped, the residual ink was wiped away and we were done. “aight, you can check it out now” …and I got excited all over again, I'd finally been given the okay to open that long-awaited 'Christmas gift'. I stood, walked over to the mirror, and thought for sure my jaw had detached, dropped to the floor and shattered. I was elated. Absolutely, elated. This tattoo was truly built for robyn.emmm, no doubt. Here is the finished product:

*The dripping star is C.O.I's trademarked logo, and is representative of their belief that "everybody's a star..but only a few drip down on other stars and inspire them" ~Miya Bailey (April 2009 issue of Inked)

I drove four hours to get there, and I drove four exhausting hours in the rain to get back, but for my experience at City of Ink, and getting to carry around a timeless piece of art that was created especially for me, at the hands of Miya Bailey, made it all entirely worth it.

To you Miya, I say thank you. You are an inspiration, and even more than a dream chaser…as far as I’m concerned, you’re not doing the chasing, you’re doing the catching. Keep on keeping on.

***UPDATE, CLICK HERE to watch the trailer (which I happen to be in!) for the film Dapa Entertainment was spotlighting Miya for***