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Kristie Le\u2019s tattoo (All photos by Mary Mijares)<\/p>\nKristie Le made a spontaneous decision last weekend to get her first tattoo. That it would be for a good cause made her more adamant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the Black Needle Tattoo shop near Lake Merritt, she scanned her options \u2014 flowers, animals, fish, a skeletal hand \u2014 all drawn by students from Oakland School for the Arts. Choosing a goat to match her Vietnamese zodiac sign, she mustered the courage to have a needle etch the design on her inner left bicep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t take any art classes growing up, and I really wish I did,\u201d said Le, an acupuncturist. \u201cI wish that more kids were more exposed to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amid the hum of tattoo machines and the strains of Green Day classics, about 50 people got new designs inked on ankles, legs and forearms at a flash tattoo fundraiser for OAS last weekend. Attendees chose from 60 unique flash designs \u2014 sticker-like art that can fit on the palm \u2014 each created by high school visual artists, under the guidance of Black Needle Tattoo owner Alex Glenard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event raised $1,150 for the school.<\/p>\n
Kristie Le\u2019s tattoo (All photos by Mary Mijares)<\/p>\n
Glenard said the idea for the fundraiser came from one of the first flashes his shop did about five years ago. It was a celebration of a pie shop that brought 30 or 40 people in for tattoos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it is a charter school, they do get some public funding, but they\u2019re also relying on donations to continue to expand this school,\u201d said Glenard, whose son is an OSA student. \u201cThen I thought, well, maybe I could do a fundraising event for OSA.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Partnerships like these are important to fostering OSA and Oakland\u2019s artistic community, said Sasha Pasupathy, associate director of advancement operations and community giving at OSA. They also give parents a hand in developing opportunities for students to take their art beyond the classroom, she added, because the partnerships often come through parents\u2019 networks and workplaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the school, she said, the question that is top of mind is: \u201cHow can students get more real world hands-on experience?\u201d<\/p>\n
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OSA high school students\u2019 flash tattoo designs <\/p>\n
To make the flash tattoo showcase and fundraiser a reality, OSA paired Glenard with students from the high school\u2019s Visual Arts Department \u2013 around 60 in total. The department focuses on the basics of drawing, painting, sculpture, design.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Through one masterclass for each grade this semester, Glenard taught students the fundamentals of making flash tattoo art from scratch, and what it means to design for a live canvas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked a little bit about the history of tattooing, the process of tattooing, and exactly what\u2019s happening when a tattoo artist is essentially using a machine to pierce the skin and deposit ink underneath the skin,\u201d Glenard said. \u201cI think we had a good spectrum of art come out of the students\u2019 designs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ara Kim, an OSA\u00a0 senior who designed lilies for her flash, said she drew from Pinterest and a friend\u2019s tattoo. Kim said designing with ink in mind gave her a new challenge.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just think so much more graphically, especially for flash, because it has to be replicated in such a fast amount of time,\u201d Kim said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot different from my more painterly style. That was a fun departure, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Alex Glenard tattoos an arm during the flash event. <\/p>\n
Crow Romo-Griffin, a junior who designed a flash inspired by the 1950\u2019s pin-up girl era, said Glenard\u2019s presentation and background gave him a new perspective.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you had to go to school to be able to put ink permanently on people\u2019s bodies, but you can really cater the career towards what you want,\u201d Romo-Griffin said. \u201cThis tattooing stuff has really intrigued me a lot. I think that it would be awesome to explore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many of the attendees were educators or parents. Others came after seeing the event on Instagram. Some were passersby who stumbled upon it by chance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elise \u201cNic\u201d Weber, one of the shop\u2019s resident artists, said people loved that the designs were created by students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a fun thing that you get to walk around and some high schooler\u2019s going to be like, \u2018That\u2019s my drawing!\u2019\u201d Weber said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ashton Perfecto, a teacher at Coliseum College Prep Academy in Oakland, got fish designs at the flash event \u2014 one on his ankle, the other on his forearm. He had been wanting another tattoo but was concerned about the cost. The flash event, he said, enabled him to get two and support Oakland students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a nice opportunity for the kids to show off their creativity and be valued and also bring value to their school,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Top photo: Black Needle Tattoo artist Finley draws Ara Kim\u2019s lily design.)<\/p>\n