Arts IN Focus on PBS Fort Wayne is funded in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne Coming up, well talk with tattoo artist Kay Allday and musician Max Wells.

It's all next on Arts IN Focus.

Welcome to Arts IN Focus.

I'm Emilie Henry.

Tattoo artist Kay Allday had a passion for art all throughout her childhood.

So at the age of 18, she went looking for an apprenticeship at a local Fort Wayne tattoo shop.

Despite being a female in a male dominated industry, Kay eventually carved out her place in the local scene and became a tattoo artist at Black Anvil Tattoo.

After gaining years of experience in the art of tattooing, Kay took the next big leap in her career and opened her very own tattoo shop right here in Fort Wayne, called the Painted Lady.

Kay, thank you so much for sitting down with me today at The Painted Lady.

I'm a little intimidated being here because I want a tattoo, but I also have no idea what I would get.

So that's a story for another day.

Tell me, when you started doing tattoos.

So I started doing tattoos ten years ago.

Actually, this month is the anniversary of getting my artist permit.

So I did my first I did my first tattoo probably six months later.

Let's rewind before that.

So I imagine that you were an artist.

And when did you feel like you were good at it and it was something that you really loved?

I've been drawing my whole entire life.

I never went to school or anything for it is just something that I've always been able to do.

So I never really took art as a possible career path, you know what I mean?

It just something that I did.

You know, my dad used to work at a paper warehouse, and whenever paper was off the truck, so to speak, he would bring it home.

So I always had tons of paper, and my mom used to draw portraits of us.

So it was always something that was there.

I just didn't think that I needed to pursue it because it was just something that I could do.

And then I also didn't think that it was a possible career path.

So.

So at what point did you think, Oh, wait a minute, I'm good at this.

I'm this is going to be my career.

When I got out of high school, I did go to one of the local shops to see what it would take to get an apprenticeship for piercing, just because I thought that it would be an easy way into the door.

But apparently apprenticeships cost money and I didn't have money at the time.

And also, you know, I was young and I didn't know of any other female tattooers really at the time.

There was probably maybe a handful in Fort Wayne.

So I just didn't really think it was possible.

But then a few years later, I ended up meeting my mentor and he just offered me an apprenticeship.

So I took it and I progressed pretty quickly.

And yeah, ten years later, here I am.

So tell me about the difference between drawing on the paper that fell off the truck and and that learning curve to to draw on a human that that is not a flat piece of paper.

I can't imagine how hard that has to be.

I would definitely say you have to learn how to draw for a tattoo.

Not all drawings or artwork will transition or translate into a tattoo and there are different things that you have to keep in consideration when it comes to the longevity of the tattoo.

So how should you construct your designs so that they last as a tattoo over time?

So how how did you come to find your esthetic and how important is it for you that people know it's your tattoo?

Does that make sense?

Yes.

This is actually something that I struggle with on a regular basis because I want to have a distinct style.

I feel like that should be most tattooers goal.

I mean, I don't I should I don't want to tell people what their goal should be.

I think that everybody does strive to have a style.

Yeah, I came up in a street shop which is it's not a private studio.

It's kind of like they take walk ins.

So I learned to do everything well because I wasn't allowed to say no to things.

Also, there is like a dot work style, which is technically just stippling.

So it's a style of shading really.

At the time when I was in my apprenticeship, I wasn't allowed to use a shader, I could only use a liner.

So I had to learn how to make complete designs on the skin without having all of the tools.

So I had to get creative during the time of my apprenticeship, I was actually going through a lot of turmoil in my personal life.

I was pregnant and homeless at the time, so I really had to throw my all into it.

Otherwise I didn't think I was going to make it.

So it was kind of like I had everything to gain and nothing to lose at that point.

So.

Yeah, so I imagine that that speeds up everything that you learn quickly because you have to.

Yeah, I think so.

So I was before we started shooting, I was looking at some of the books and stuff in the shop and there's one called I think like stencils from the past.

Oh, yeah.

Mm hmm.

And it looks like kind of when you think of an old school tattoo, it has lots of those types of images.

Is that the kind of esthetic you're into or what?

What really speaks to you?

I would say that I do love that traditional American traditional style, which is what the book you were looking at was.

And it is something that I've always wanted to do and I can do and I do sometimes, but I typically just do what people come to me for.

And it it is a lot of women and they typically want flowers or some kind of memorial tattoos for their loved ones and things like that.

But yes, I do.

I do like the traditional style and when I get tattooed, I go for that style myself.

So tell me the logistics of getting a tattoo.

Say I come to you and show you a design of a rose, For example.

What happens next?

Typically, what I ask for is I need to know location of the body that the tattoo is going on that helps me compose the tattoo.

And then I need to know color black and gray.

I typically ask for reference photos so I know what style.

It can be difficult to get on the same page sometimes, so I just ask for as much information as possible.

So once you have the information, what happens then?

Say I want this flower on my arm.

Is there a stencil?

If so, where does that come from?

How does it all work?

So when you come for the tattoo, I will have the design ready.

I let you look at the design if you like it.

Great.

If you don't, we can make some minor changes to it.

I will then make a stencil.

Will put the stencil on.

If you like that, then we'll go from there to do the tattoo.

If you don't like it, we can usually make adjustments and move the tattoo around.

Okay.

You were talking earlier about the longevity and having to base your design on really how a tattoo is going to age.

So what goes into that?

How do you make sure that something is going to look good?

Years from now, there's a saying board will hold.

So if you have a solid outline, which is important, there is good contrast.

So typically that means there's black in the tattoo and really designs that are proportionate to the area matter.

And also not putting so many details into a tattoo that is going to be small really matters.

So there's a lot of different elements that come into play with that.

But so how much of it is collaborative with the client?

Because if I come in and say, okay, I want this and I'm very specific and you're looking at me going, that is not going to work, or it might short term, but it's going to look really bad as you age and your body changes and all that.

How often do you have to convince people?

Maybe, maybe not.

I would say like once a month you have to try to persuade somebody to move in a direction that's going to be better for the tattoo.

So it's never I can I never tell anybody no.

I always say yes but, we need to do this or make these changes to make it work.

And they typically trust my judgment.

Yeah.

Okay.

When it comes to color in a tattoo, how hard is it to get the shading right and all of that?

And is that something that you see in your head or do you have to have reference photos?

What what goes into making something pop color wise?

Definitely black.

You need to have black in the tattoo so that the colors look more vibrant.

Just good contrast color theory matters, you know, making sure the colors are going to complement the skin tone and that they're going to complement the other colors that you're using.

So all of that matters.

How does it feel to go from pregnant, homeless, this has to work, to now being booked out to summer to do what you love.

It doesn't seem real sometimes, and honestly, I still feel like a beginner, so I feel very humble.

But I do feel blessed.

Yeah.

So do you have like a North Star artist that you look to and go, Oh, man, I want to.

I really want to emulate him or her, or do you try to just put on blinders and do what you do?

I would say that when it comes to the industry in our city, I do keep my blinders on just because I try to focus on what I'm doing and stay in my own lane.

But I do think that there's so much talent out there that I do look to, you know, some of the heavy hitters in the industry and people who have been doing it for 20 years who, you know, are internationally known and just who do great tattooing, like that's what I strive for.

So I could go on and on about names, but there's just so many.

Yeah.

How do you think that you have evolved as an artist over the last ten years?

I would say that probably every shop I've worked at, I've grown and evolved a little bit.

My style evolves all the time and it's based off of what I'm doing because I do a lot of what my clients ask for.

I do tend to get bored, so then I try to find ways to spice things up and make it exciting because I do want to make every tattoo original and exciting and something that I want to do.

So it's really just trying to find joy in the in the tattoos that I am doing and What's the best part of your job?

I think the best part is just being able to make people happy and really kind of just serve people in that way, because I think so many people get tattoos that mean something to them and it's really important and they spend a lot of time planning and they take off work.

You know, they save up money, they put their kids in day care if they have to.

And it's really a commitment they're making.

And also, you know, they're making that commitment to have my art on them, which is a really big deal.

I can actually emotional and really tattoos affect people in ways that we really don't realize.

You know, they're very empowering.

They help with people's self-image.

And a lot of times are getting tattoos for loved ones that passed away or their children, and they usually mean something to them.

Yeah.

So.

How does it feel knowing that if I buy a painting, for example, and next year I'm like, Yeah, I don't really like it.

I can take it down.

Your artwork lives with somebody.

Is that is that exciting to you?

Is it scary?

Is it?

How does that make you feel?

I do think that it's special.

It is a very special thing, you know, because it's almost like they take a piece of you with them.

Yeah, but also, like, if I look at a tattoo that I did five years ago, I'm gonna be like, Oh, God, girl, this needs work.

But, you know, so it's like, bittersweet for me.

I don't know if I want to see them.

I do, because I remember every tattoo I've ever done.

Yeah, but, you know, it's is cool.

It's cool that people are willing to make that commitment to your art for the rest of their life.

Yeah, that's cool a feeling.

Fantastic.

Well, I think that your work is so beautiful.

Thank you so much for taking the time today.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

For more information, find the Painted Lady F.W.

on Instagram.

I'm joined now by musician and artist Max Wells.

Max Thank you so much for being here.

I was telling you, I did a deep dive last night on all your stuff, so I'm excited to chat.

When did you first start identifying as an artist?

Well, first of all, I appreciate you for having me.

I'm grateful to be here just to be able to talk about it in general.

It's a good question.

I feel like, uh, the cliche answer is everyone's always been an artist, you know?

But I was say, uh, in high school, I started actually experimenting with, like, making music and just expressing myself.

Um, and then towards the end of high school, I was actually, uh, I guess the word is like chase starting to chase something, you know, like, I realized there was something there.

It was more than just, like, having fun in my bedroom and writing poems and stuff like that.

So I would say, you know, towards the end of high school was when I really started to dive into it and kind of put all my energy into creating art and just expressing myself.

So when you were writing poetry and writing songs, did it come easily to you?

When I think about sitting down to write a song, nothing.

It's like I am not inspired in any way.

I feel like I have plenty to say, but it just doesn't come out that way.

So was it easy for you?

That's a good question.

I feel like, um, in a way it was like it felt like a flow, you know, because I just remember being young and kind of hearing songs and then making my own, like, adjustments to the song, you know, like, as I listen to it.

Yeah.

So that was something that just naturally kind of happened.

So once I started getting into actually writing it down and kind of collecting my thoughts, it did kind of just feel like a flow, you know.

Now, I'm not going to say that writing a song is easy or anything like that, but that was one thing that kind of led me to even taking this path in general was because it just felt natural to me.

Yeah.

Okay.

So which comes first for you?

Do you write lyrics first or music or does it vary?

It varies.

It just depends on what really what the energy is.

Yeah.

Um, when I first started, I had notebooks and notebooks of lyrics, like it was just only lyrics.

And then I would get sent beats or I would be with a producer or something like that and kind of just match things up.

But now it's different because now, you know, talk about the flow of everything, and now I'm able to kind of get into a little bit more of a comfortable flow.

So if I hear music, I'm making something that is inspiring me.

Like sonically, the words kind of just come, you know, like a lot of times now I'm not writing lyrics the same way.

It's kind of just as I go.

I'm kind of like recording a couple ideas right now, and then it's like, I may stop and think of, you know, think of a couple of things and then kind of keep going.

So it kind of just happens.

It's kind of simultaneously now.

That's insane.

It feels insane to say it out loud.

Yeah, I'm doing it.

It just again, it's like the flow state.

Yeah, but yeah, yeah.

So, but I feel like getting into the flow state is it's not that's, that's a lot of work.

Does it feel that way or are you able to kind of get into that rhythm in that space easily.

I feel like it's not hard to get into, but the circumstances have to be right.

So I just became a dad a little bit over a year ago.

She's a year and a half now.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

But with that has changed a lot is it's changed my approach on when I have the time to lock in directly to get in that flow state.

You know, it's like at the very beginning to it was really difficult because I record everything in my house, like in my home studio.

But if I hear the baby crying, it's, you know, I can still work and I can still get my stuff done.

But.

Right.

It was really hard for me to be able to like really just zone in because I also have ADD too.

So, you know, the noises and everything like that.

But yeah, I mean, just kind of answer the question.

It's not hard, just it has to be right.

The energy has to be there.

I have to really be feeling it, you know?

Yeah.

So I was going to ask you about your daughter.

I watched a quick Instagram video of the two of you together.

She's precious.

Oh, thank you.

How has becoming a dad changed, aside from the having to change your schedule and the way you're able to work, how has it changed, just you as an artist?

In so many ways, it changes everything, right?

Yeah.

And I just it's crazy because I feel like I literally just lit up once you said that because it it has taught me to slow down and like, take a second, just in general.

And when it comes to my art and expressing myself, that has been something that has made me feel like all over the place in so many ways, you know.

So yeah, it has just taught me to, to take every moment for granted, you know, because now it's like, you know, she's walking around and stuff and trying to talk.

So it's really crazy to see like the growth of something that is looking up to me the way that, you know, my daughter does.

So it's like the reason I got into making music and why I wanted to make it my career and why I wanted to just lock in on that was because I felt like I didn't fit in to anything else quite how I did.

Like as naturally as I did with music.

Right?

So there had been so much time that I had put specifically into just making music.

I had cut off friends.

I have not talked to family, and all this time like I had only focused on what I wanted to achieve.

But then my daughter came and it was like the split moment that I was like, This is the first time in over a decade that I have felt like the stress go away or like the pressure off my back, you know?

So now it's just complete freedom.

That's I guess that's the way to put it.

It changes your identity.

So now instead of Max, the musician, and that's everything, and now you're a dad too.

And so, yeah, I yeah, I get that.

But you, you don't know until that happens.

You don't.

Yeah.

In terms of lyrics and messaging and social commentary, is that important to you to relay, I already know just having listened to your stuff, but is it important to you too, to relay those thoughts through your music?

Definitely.

I feel like, um.

Yeah, that that was, that was what I felt like.

It gave me the opportunity to have a chance to even do this as a as a job or as a career, you know, because when you listen to music nowadays, without modernizing things too much, there's a lot of the same stuff.

And I think that that's going to happen with anything when as time goes on, you know, it's, uh, inspiration is going to be depleted in a way.

But for me, like the things that stuck with me the most were things with like a good message or things that were just kind of positive.

And I think, again, what was natural for me was to just take the things that my parents taught me, take the things that I have developed and my perspectives I've developed through life and try to put them into words.

You know, the best I can.

Yeah.

So it's in a way, Yeah, it kind of that's that's kind of always been the goal.

And again, something that's kind of came naturally, you know, with my perspective.

Okay, so you are a musician, but also an artist in general.

You, you want to express yourself in all kinds of ways.

So how are you making the world a more beautiful place?

I think, uh, well, the thing I say has been since I started making music is change the world like that.

That's just been it.

And there was a time where I took a little bit of time away from that saying because I felt this, this pressure of like, you know, the world, the world is going through a lot of change and even turmoil in the past, I mean, forever, but especially the past like five, ten years, you know.

So I felt like there was a lot of pressure being like, wow, how are we going to change the world?

Can the world even be changed?

Um, so I kind of stopped saying it for a little bit, and, uh, I think at the end of the day, kind of coming back to becoming a dad, I realized the power of our words that we say.

So, you know, I kind of reduced it back to being like, if you can make if you can change one moment, if you can change someone else's, one moment, you can do, you know, smile at someone who may have been crying or something, you know, just anything like that.

You're able to change one little thing.

There's going to be the ripple effect.

That's going to continue to continue, yeah, keep going and.

So if you weren't an artist what do you think you would be?

So I've been thinking about this a lot, actually, because when I go back to, like, thinking of what I wanted to be in high school, I wanted to be a motivational speaker.

Ever since this one motivational speaker came to like our auditorium, I was like, That's what I want to do.

And I don't know if it's because of the perspective that my mom and my dad gave me.

And just like how I felt like I walked through life with, like an optimistic lens.

I don't know if that's why.

Because at the end of the day, I wouldn't say I'm shy, but I'm not really the type to to be sitting on a stage like, motivating people, you know, like you're too self aware.

Yeah, right, right, exactly.

I'm thinking about it too much, but I don't know, I probably would be just doing some kind of a philanthropy, you know, like, I think I said that word, right?

Yeah, you did.

I would just be doing something to help out, you know, like, Yeah, because.

And I get that.

I love that.

That's your answer because I see that in your art.

And so to know that you have married those two things.

Yeah, the the philanthropy, the motivational speaking, all of that, I see that coming together on your platforms and that's really cool.

So I hope you feel good about that.

I know when you get when you get in your own head, yeah, it's tough, but what is the best part of what you do?

Like I remember the first time, like realizing that I can make a song.

I don't have to go to a studio and go into see what I've been able to do, like off of this thing.

That was just fun.

Yeah.

Is so, so crazy.

Like, I have to think about every single day, you know?

And that's and that's just for the personal side of it.

Now, the other side is the fact that I can take those feelings.

I can take everything that I have internally for me, I can put it in the form of something for others to then be able to resonate with it, connect with it, tie memories to it.

Like there's literally no words for that, you know?

And just again, when when I say when it comes to making the change or change in the world like it music and just art is a form of therapy in so many different ways.

So just being able to be a part of just people's moments and, you know, hopefully for the better, you know, I would say that that's the best part.

Like by far.

I love your messaging and your self awareness and your music.

I I'm so glad to have met you and really hope that you continue doing what you're doing because it's it's a bright spot in the world that we certainly need.

So thank you for all of that and thanks for taking the time to sit down with me.

Of course.

Thanks for having me.

This was good, good conversation.

Im glad we did it.

For more information, find Max for the people on Instagram.

Our thanks to Kay Allday and Max Wells.

Be sure to join us next week for Arts IN Focus.

You can catch this and other episodes at PBS Fort Wayne dot org or through our app and be sure to check out our YouTube channel.

Thank you for watching.

And in the meantime, enjoy something beautiful.

Arts IN Focus on PBS Fort Wayne is funded in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne