Today we’d like to introduce you to Kinsey Nephele.
Hi Kinsey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Minnesota, but most of my childhood I grew up in Wisconsin- specifically, a small town (less than 3,000 people at the time) that barely had a strip of downtown for businesses, let alone one small independent arts center and a run-down community theater where I grew up performing in a lot of shows and musicals. Throughout my childhood, not only was I actively involved in theater productions and tried out commercial work when I could make it out to the city, but I was also determined to be into the arts however I could! I started playing violin around 5 and studied with a local private teacher for some time, even winning Suzuki (SAM) awards while I was under 10 years old. Not only was I trying to pick up every instrument I could, but I always had my nose in a book, never the same genre, and always had manga in my rotation! Japanese culture significantly influenced me when I was younger because we hosted a foreign exchange student when my brother was in high school, with whom we are still in contact today! After being introduced to the world of Studio Ghibli, the world of anime, and the different art styles that were out there, it was the only thing I was drawing for a while. Having art in school saved me in a lot of different ways. I had access to public school art in middle school, which was an outlet for me during my parent’s divorce. After switching schools halfway through middle school, I found my friends in the art department and also a couple of mentors on the way.
During high school, I found a teacher who I felt respected me as an artist and a human. His foundations and ceramics classes made me feel genuinely myself during the worst years of my life. [Later down the road, I would try to take a path in college that would lead me to become an art teacher myself- I was supposed to be a teacher’s assistant for him during 2020 before the quarantine.] After spiraling a little bit with mental health struggles, I found myself moving in with my father in Florida. During these 5 months of living here, I was Isolated, with only art to keep me sane. I painted countless paintings that I don’t think I will ever see. I painted a dog on a beach holding a martini for a local “Dog Foundation” auction that sold apparently. The one upside of living in Florida was being close to the Salvador DalÍ Museum, which I tried to frequent when possible. At this point, I was starting my junior year, and I started in the local public school. I was excited to meet friends in my art classes, but I showed up to a past-full-maximum-capacity, sticky with humidity Florida metal box classroom. I spent two days there before going to online school. After no hope and the same monotonous cycles, I made amends with my mom (contractually) and was shipped on the next flight back to Minnesota.
For the next year of my 17-year-old life, I struggled with as much school life as possible before deciding to finish my credits and graduate a semester early while still working full time. I had to attend 3 types of therapy a week, go to church, volunteer, and get checked on the way out the door to ensure that my outfits were appropriate and my hair was a “natural” color. After turning 18, I was emancipated by the school and only showed up enough not to get expelled before I graduated early, which I did in January 2019. After moving out of my mother’s place, my brother took me in, and I was gifted a new form of independence. I started college later that year and got to travel and see art that moved me. A couple of exhibits that formed who I am were Virgil Abloh’s 2019 exhibit and the “Hippie Modernism” exhibit held at the Walker back in the early 2010’s2010s.
I started studying Fine Arts and Education with a plan to minor in Business at a local community college. After trying to become an artist and also a teacher, in a time when I couldn’t be in person, it wasn’t very easy for me. I dropped out of school but still wanted to pursue art somehow. I had always loved tattoos and even given myself some simple needle and ink pokes back in high school, so during the rise of COVID, I decided that I would start tattooing myself, so I did. After designing hundreds of pieces, I began apprenticing at a tattoo shop, where I only stayed for less than a month. What I learned about the tattoo industry is that your first apprenticeship may not be your last, and that is okay! There are many shops out there and different people who get along in various ways; it may take a couple of stops to find the right fit!
After continuing to create designs for months, I found myself in White Bear Lake, apprenticing at a tattoo shop and getting my full license in just under two years. I feel like I learned a lot about the industry, not just in my shop but also by traveling and meeting other artists and seeing how their shops were run. Flash forward to now- I have less than 6 months of (a private) Tattoo shop-owning experience, and I wouldn’t have imagined this is where I would be. I am so fortunate to be putting my art onto people’s bodies- being able to be me and have people come out of their way for me means the world. I just started posting my work online, and people started noticing. That social media is a crazy tool, and I will never fully understand it.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There are many challenges in this industry, whether that be just getting an apprenticeship or one that treats you fairly and just 100% of the time. There are no regulations for apprenticeships, guidelines, or curriculum to go off of- it is genuinely a trade handed down over generations. With the increase in technology and accessibility, people can learn about this trade online and know the safety precautions and risks of tattooing. Historically, in the industry, people whom a mentor does not teach are called “scratchers.” There is always the saying of Steve Jobs or Bill Gates starting in their garage before getting the office to the big skyscrapers- Isn’t the foundation for success built on that drive and ambition that begins where your heart is? Or the saying of “trying the bacon before buying the whole pig” mindset, especially as a modern artist in today’s age. I do weird tattoos. They can be abstract, realistic, surrealistic, brutal, ignorant, you name it. I don’t view my work as very traditional at all, almost “anti-traditional” in a way, which doesn’t negate my love for tattoo history, and everything up to this point has been nothing but respect for other artists’ styles and impact throughout the years. It has been tough being respected as an artist in this industry because of the type of work that I do. Tattoos up until this point have been made to last and try to hold up forever! This mindset is changing with the framework of the youth today. Some want tattoos they know will blast over another tattoo or even get it lasered off/removed. Tattoos can be changed and ‘played with’ as we age, and our skin eventually cycles out. The tattoos fade with us, and we can touch them up or remember the memory, which is beautiful.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Tattoo Artist, but I am also a multi-media artist, from screen-printing to painting to collaging to vinyl work- lots of stuff! I also grew up playing and making music, but I have stopped performing as much because I wanted to invest my time in tattooing for a period before getting back into it. I am proud of how far I have come at 23 years old. I know I still have much to learn, and I am grateful for where this path has led me.
What matters most to you? Why?
I am alive, living, breathing, and getting a sip of life when possible. My flight or fight responses were always on for so long, with no off switch. In my life right now, being alive is important to me because I was stripped of being my person, and now that I have that privilege to organize my life how I want to curate it instead of crutching on others when what I need is to create a strong foundation for myself. It has been hard to reach a point where I am much more stable than I used to be. I live near my shop with my loving partner and my sassy cat. We are fed, bills are paid, and I am content with my life. Being alive for me also means producing things, whether tattoos, new art, new clothes, a new hobby I pick up, or cooking new meals I have never thought to make before. I have a Roman numeral on the back of my neck of “I” or 1, signifying first times and always being willing to try new things, pushing yourself to the point of being okay with being uncomfortable.
Pricing:
- $100 + 75$/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: toothobituary.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/toothobituary
- Other: Hard-Headz.com
Image Credits
Maya Modelli- Portrait and in- house photographer
