Today we’d like to introduce you to Jas Helena.
Hi Jas, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I was always into art, always sketching. And I actually tried to start tattooing when I was 18 and It was just something I wasn’t ready for, So I went to school for illustration and started working for independent bands and then started illustrating for bands under record labels such as Gilead Media and Sergeant House doing album covers, posters, promo, shirts, and apparel. At that point, I was making a living so I dropped out of school and focused on my illustration work.
After 5 years of illustrating I took up a tattoo apprenticeship in Savannah. This time I was ready for the challenge of learning to tattoo. Learning it for real, as an art form unto itself. That was four years ago and I just opened a shop overlooking Broughton Street, called Grimoire Tattoo.
It’s the first co-op shop in Savannah – we’ve got a core team of four of us; two illustrative artists and two American traditional artists, and we’ll have some awesome tattoo artists from around the country come in and do guest spots.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I mean, life is never smooth, the road is never smooth, but you just do it. Of course, there have been several hurdles I’ve had to overcome and it’s an intensely competitive industry so it’s always been important to maintain confidence in myself, in my distinct style as an artist. And I’ve benefited from having an obsessive work ethic.
And in the industry, everyone who is good is SO good, and you just have to work your ass off to get there. It’s drawing with a machine. It’s hard, and sometimes it takes forever and sometimes you might still never get to be great.
The hardest thing about tattooing is just how much work it really is. There are not many days off, you get out of the shop and then you go home and you need to start getting the drawings together for the work scheduled for the next day. It’s a job that really is a lifestyle because it takes all your time from you. That’s what I’ve absolutely learned, that life doesn’t come with enough time, and even when I have the energy and the will to grind it out, there’s only so much I can do with the time.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m an illustration tattoo specializing in fine line tattoos and custom drawn work as well as still an illustrator part time.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
There’s a value in knowing what you want your art to look like beforehand, like having a clear idea about what you want your style to be.
Having an art background before starting to tattoo should be a huge priority. That’s what saved me the second time I came to the work of tattooing. It was the years spent doing illustrating work that gave me the foundation necessary, so when it came to learning how to tattoo, the art was already second-nature, it was just about focusing on the craft of using a machine to carry out the vision. The technical aspects of tattooing are challenging enough just on their own, don’t try and learn how to draw at the same time you’re learning how to tattoo.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Grimoiretattoo.net
- Instagram: Jas_helena
Image Credits
Max Aiden Photography
Laura Pleasant Photography
