We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elisheba Mrozik a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Elisheba, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My mother is not a person of risks or going in unprepared. She likes things that have as little risk and can guarantee the best outcomes possible- for everything. If she did not understand it, she did not like it. However, when she was told by my teachers I had artistic talent that needed to be cultivated with classes and exploration she never denied me the opportunity to go in, try something new, make mistakes and fail. She, much to her credit, allowed me to go to Japan alone as a foreign exchange student in high school. She was scared and nervous about allowing me to go live with people she did not know, in a country she did not know, with a language and culture she did not know. For someone who grew up during Jim Crow and civil rights in Memphis, TN and experienced racial segregation and violence as a black woman, she genuinely feared for my safety and experience, because she understood how cruel the world can be to black girls. However, after I worked hard and applied for scholarships and won them all and worked to prove my responsibility, she let me go and it was one of the greatest, most formative experiences of my life and greatly shaped my worldview, mindset and artistic practice. My mother, although always pessimistic and cautious about dealings with the world, always supported my creativity and encouraged me to follow my dreams. I continue to strive for her and my other An-Sisters who were unable to live to their fullest potential due to the circumstances of their birth in a place hostile toward their form
Elisheba, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have always been an artist. My kindergarten art teacher told my mother I had talent and needed classes. From there, it has always been art. I loved painting the most but I love exploring with various mediums and techniques and exploring ways to make a story or message be more significant to the viewer and leave more impact. In 2010 I found tattooing and was introduced to the advancements of body art. I hit a brick wall when no one would apprentice me. I learned the sordid history of racism within the tattoo industry and its barriers first hand. I was able to persist and overcome to become the first licensed black tattoo artist in Middle Tennessee and I had to open One Drop Ink Tattoo to do it. Being the first black tattoo shop in Nashville allowed me to tap into an entire population that had been ignored and the community embraced me and my art. I dived headfirst into it and worked hard to grow my skills and practice. I was blessed with a following that supports me and my work, allowing me to travel all over the world and create beautiful art, meet awesome huemans and immerse myself in amazing cultures. I now offer fine body art tattoos on a limited basis and have split my focus toward my first passion of fine art and elevating my body art to a culturally impactful level. I began my brand QueenBeeInk about 6 years into tattooing and became a fully independent fine art creation, arts consulting, art engagement and large scale public art studio in 2021. After 11 years of tattooing almost exclusively I’ve been seeking to expand my knowledge and skill set and using my work and message to impact more people through large scale public art, intentional immersive installation and challenging through art in corporate and institutional spaces. I’m passionate about community and hueman engagement through art and eschewing art solely for corporate and consumeristic purposes. However, I engage and encourage institutional and corporate involvement because of the substantial impact they have on our lives and the world around us. I enjoy reminding corporations that they are made up of huemans and my clients enjoy the increased employee engagement and positive feedback and outcomes from participating in community art engagement and by having works of art that challenge them in their work environments so they can grow as individuals. I also enjoy working with young huemans who face increased challenges and need creativity to spur creative problem solving for the future they will inherit. I am proud of the fact that I stay true to my principles and mission and am able to continue to grow and sustain my career while truly being able to do good work that may not make me rich, but makes my community rich and its people thrive. I have a reputation for providing beautiful work, and getting things done and following through with high quality products and experiences.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Society needs to understand that Artists and Creatives are a skilled labor. No different than an electrician or a plumber- professional creatives are professional because they have worked tirelessly to gain the skills to create the art that everyone loves and that is used to make people tons of money. Yet we have no safety net, no unified voice fighting for fair wages for creatives and unfortunately some want to try to write off art costs by trying to pay with “exposure” or minimal pay for a lot of work. People expect it be our passion to create art for them and so we should not expect much in pay. It is ludicrous as you do not expect a lawyer with a passion for law to work for free. The dismissiveness towards creatives energies and time in the creation of a work must be changed and starts with changing the value of art in a society. It also means that we have to separate art as a means of expression alone and art for expression in a commercial aspect. We expose and support kids being creative and when we see someone with talent, we uplift and encourage that and allow the child to see if their skillset is viable as a career. We teach creatives best business practices so they can protect themselves and their work from exploitation and teach them what it means to be a professional artists and how to balance career art with personal practice. Society must bring art back into education spaces for all but get more focused for those who express an interest and show talent in it. We must also protect artists from fraudulent people who exploit the current art world practices to devalue the work of true creatives. We must care about art as a society and remove old stereotypes. Looking for creatives who have a different viewpoint or perspective from what you may normally go for culturally may also open the door for a typically disenfranchised creative.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Most people don’t understand why I don’t just do the artistic thing that will make me the most money with my art. I could just tattoo everyday and make plenty of money, easily do tshirts, commercial ad style art or murals, etc. If you forget about your mission for too long you will began to resent the thing you’re successful for and ruin your true passion for art and creativity. Trying to balance your passion for art with your commercial art business is one of the hardest struggles a professional artist will have. You must learn how to create a space where you can consistently create on a high level and stress about perfection. Never fully knowing what the client will say when presented with the final work. That comes with a load of extra anxiety and stress on top of what you already have as a creative with life also happening to you. It is difficult to separate yourself from your art as many artists see it as an extension of themselves. Top that with fair pay struggles, legal agreements and contracts and general business operation, social media etc- its a lot. So when you need an artist or you find an artist whose work you like follow these steps and you will have the best product and a great experience.
1. If you are searching for a creative for a project, look for examples of the closest thing to what you are wanting and then find an artist who actually does that type of work. Artists cannot do every style or type of work. I am not a landscape artist. You will not get a professional landscape painting from me.
2. If you select an artists because you like their work, listen to them explain their process so you can give them what they need to do their best work.
3. Don’t micromanage! Give details and let them do their thing. Express things you really want changed but give them actual freedom to create. Just make sure you approve the final designs and details before they do the final rendering.
4. Pay them real rates! Professional wall painters get paid more than mural artists many times to paint a wall a single plain color. Fine artists who have spent thousands of hours in time and dollars to perfect their craft deserve a real wage. You cannot pay rent with exposure.
5. Get a contract. make sure everything you ask for and what they say they will provide is listed out in detail. It also establishes licensing pay etc. This will avoid last minute hiccups and everybody gets what they asked for.
6. Support a unique range of creatives! So many perspectives out here need to be heard! Art is not a monolith.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.queenbeink.com
- Instagram: @queenbeeink
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/QueenBeeInk
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2njZVaJGSRMGtVo83m2Lrw
Image Credits
Joseph Patrick Alan poizner