Dancing in the Sun

I'm up in Asheville for the Bele Chere festival....everyone's dancing in the streets.... It's about 96 degrees....the drummers playing and the hippies dance in a trance...Asheville is a very different place....the Village will inspire you in some way....these people are happy... Just wish the people in the projects would see the beauty and PEACE they are surrounded by.








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Photos from the Film

These are photos taken from the film when we interviewed Ant over at his tattoo shop....











Photos by
Artemus Jenkins
artemusjenkins@gmail.com

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Working on my Film...

I keep getting asked "Miya why are you still tattooing?" I'm still tattooing because it seems like the people are now starting to understand the art of tattooing more and the demand for my services is at an all time high...so I can stop now... With "scratchers" and more people trying to be tattooist, there is more bad low quality in urban America than good body art...plus tattooing is helping me pay for my DREAMS... I have been to the bank many times trying to get business loans... I even tried to get private investors to put money up for other businesses i will be starting... I tattoo to pay for my film project... I tattoo to pay for my private art studio so I can finish my book... I tattoo to feed my family... And I tattoo because I love & respect this art form...the other night we filmed another artist (in Atlanta this time) my homie, Ant formerly of City of ink...he specialize in photo realism...a form of tattooing that is very public these days....Ant shared his story how he went from tattooing at a flea market... To meeting celebrity tattoo artist, Tuki Carter... To getting hired at City of ink... To opening up his own tattoo shop in Riverdale GA...I hope when flea market tattoo artists see his story on this film it will inspire them to leave those types of surroundings and look for better shops to tattoo in or open their own shops that won't fit the stereotypes of "urban tattooing"

















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Goodnight...

My body is telling me I need to go to sleep.... But my mind isn't slowing down with ideas... Art since to flow easy with no ending in sight...the ideas are unlimited... Time to smoke one to slow the vision down....maybe sandman will knock me out soon.... See y'all in dreamland


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Drawing allnight....

I just got off work and everyone is sleep....after a long day of tattooing it sucks when your the only one up with no one to talk too.... I'm thankful I have my bulldog, Rabbit.... He's a lazy as dog but he's really good company on nights like these...I'm about to work on pages from my book
"Before I'm Gone".... My blunt is rolled up, Rabbit is being lazy, Rick Ross new album is playing, And I just put on my favorite shorts now it's time to get inspired and get to drawing again.. My first tattoo appointment is at 3pm so I have a few hours to work on this book, get some sleep and wake up and get ready for work again.... Life of an artist...when everyone is away & sleep "ART" will be your best friend... So let's get started










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$50 & Up Tattoos I did yesterday..

Yesterday I woke up with a random thought...."I'm going to help City of Ink do walk-ins today & even do them at the same price as my staff" Everyday City of Ink takes walk-ins from 1pm-9pm... Sophie, Melvin, and Chris do an amazing job everyday doing tattoos for $50 and up....my tattoos start at $500 because they take hours to do... So I wanted to do some 30-45 min tattoos like I use to do when I was a teenager....I'm always doing big pieces so doing small tattoos when I have free time is like going back in time to my youth again.... I still think I'm rusty doing small tattoos, it's not really my things and I hate time limits in art but I really did the best I could with the tattoos I did for only $50-$100... Here they go... And to my follow tattoo artists don't laugh at me.














I took my lunch/dinner break and ate some really good food from Smiling Budah.... Cracked open the cookie and I got the message "Your hard work is about to pay off." that put a smile on my face and I got back to work





I personally feel the younger artists at City of Ink do wayyyy better short session & small tattoos than I do... But i tried... I know my weakness is small tattoos.... So if you want to support me & the COI movement go to my team for the smaller, cheaper pieces... I like to stay in my own lane.... Until next time...for the record the time next walk-ins I do will be for my family & friends.... the last weekend of August



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Location:323 Walker Street ATL, GA 30313