Today we’d like to introduce you to Mia Dean, “The Miachine”.
Mia, “The Miachine”, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
It took a long time to get to where I’m at, I currently manage a tattoo and piercing shop and do a lot of costume themed events as a hobby. I started out not having much direction with two art degrees- in sculpture, and one in fine arts and humanities while I working my first job from high school, as a henna artist. I did that professionally for 7 years and picked up an ungodly amount of art-related hobbies along the way including costume construction, leatherworking, painting, sewing, photography, writing, some metal fabricating, singing, burlesque dancing, calligraphy, and a culinary prowess when it comes to spices. When I focus my attention on a skill, I pour myself into learning everything I can about it, which is one of the reasons my friends chose the nick name “The Miachine” for me because I have a tendency of working like a machine when my focus hones in.
I got tired of the vagabond lifestyle of being a traveling henna artist for so many years and it got to the point where at some faires, about 15 people a day would tell me I needed to be a tattoo artist, but I didn’t summon the courage to pursue it for ages. I wanted to be sure I had the skill set to do permanent work before I even began apprenticing. It was a rough time for me and I wrote about it in my memoir, “Coming of Age in the Tinfoil House” ; it reads like a psychological thriller I’m set to publish in early 2019 about dealing with actual crazy people, unusual life circumstances, home invasions, and family skeletons in the closet that drove me to be homeless for a while where I have changed a lot of the names to protect people’s identities.
I moved back down to San Diego from Portland to start a tattoo apprenticeship about three years ago; my first one had some harsh hazing like one of my managers saying I had to eat one of the hottest hot sauces in the world straight for something as minor as almost mis-filing some paperwork. I got really lucky with my second apprenticeship with Allan Silva at Jade Buddha Tattoo Co. and took on a long-time friend and coworker from the henna business to apprentice Brooke Von Kesinger. Together we’re re-branding the shop with our complimentary styles of tattoo work and piercing knowledge to become the Chimera Tattoo Gallery come January 2019. We feel the chimera represents us more as the three-headed beast, and I couldn’t be prouder of how far we’ve come together!
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I love the work that I do, when I first started tattooing, I worked 7 days a week about 10-12 hours a day unless I was sick; I just wanted to learn everything I could about it. My favorite styles to tattoo are photorealistic, color, and Japanese brushwork styles but I love working with nerdy and witchy themes for subject matter. Why I love what I do is when people walk out of my shop, they’re excited about a part of their body that I just covered up a bad memory for them, or added to or accentuated what was already there.
It creates such a sense of community and I feel like I’m really giving back while using my art background. Though as for tattoos, I don’t do a lot of flash, I feel I need to create a custom-tailored piece for every person that walks in the door. Its kind of feels like I’m carving out a part of me for them to take with them into the world each time that way.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
Oh, I’m so excited about this new shift in the industry that’s similar to what happened with the restaurant industry about 20 years ago. People are starting to research their artist via portfolio over the internet, and travel where the work is worth it to them, and where they feel comfortable. This is totally shaking up the established shops that survived because they’ve just been the only place to get ink since they’ve been there for however many years.
My shop has been focusing on artistry and customer service, and I’m constantly blown away at the positive feedback of people, such as customers flying in to get work from me and recognizing me as The Miachine from my professional pages. All I can say is encourage that; websites like Yelp are a very powerful tool that can make or break a small business very easily, so just give kind encouragement where you want an artist doing work you like to survive and spread the word for them.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Most of my portfolio is on my Instagram @The_Miachine where I have photos of my work and adventures. I am The Miachine Tattoo Artist for my professional page on Facebook, and my email for contact is inkbymia@gmail.com
As for my place of work, we will be re-opening as the Chimera Tattoo Gallery shortly at 4660 El Cajon Blvd Suite 203, San Diego CA 92115.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4660 El Cajon Blvd suite 203, San Diego CA 92115
- Email: inkbymia@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_miachine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMiachine/
Image Credit:
Photo credit from Tiffany Andrews, Pierce O’Toole, and Keri Kilgo.
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