Interview with Things & Ink About The Tattoo Gratitude Project

For my Tattoo Gratitude Project, I’m giving away a specially designed poster to anyone who wears or has made a tattoo of my work. I recently spoke with Things & Ink about this project + my inspiration for, and approach to, making art.

Things & Ink: How did you begin to teach yourself how to create art? Were there any artists that inspired or helped you along the way?
RZ: When I was growing up, creating art was like eating breakfast in my house. The most ordinary everyday activity. Both of my parents and all of my siblings did one form or another. My mother is by far the most inspiring and influential artist and thinker in my life.

Things & Ink: Lots of people have tattoos of your artwork, do you have any tattoos?
RZ: Yes. I have a Shrivasta on my arm with a dark animal type glyph that I drew and the word Ahimsa on my chest which is a form of combative non-violence. I got my first tattoos in 1999 at a San Fransisco shop called Black + Blue Tattoo. I had only lived there for a few months and had very little money so I went around to different shops and asked if they would trade art for a tattoo. Black + Blue was the only all woman owned and operated shop in the city at the time and they were the only shop that agreed to a trade. I got two tattoos from two different artists in exchange for drawings. The shop is now legendary in San Fransisco because of that remarkable history.

I don’t care much about my tattoos now. I don’t like or dislike them. They’re like moles to me.