Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jordan Cunningham. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jordan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

In 2022 I packed my life into a U-Haul and moved from North Carolina to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to open a tattoo, leather and fine art studio with my husband, John. I was 5 years into my career as a tattoo artist and had no experience running a retail store or a gallery, both of which would be a large part of the business we were hoping to open. It was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure, but I was fixated on the idea of a space where the worlds of tattooing, fine art, and crafts could all find a home. We moved in November and opened our doors a month later.

Fast forward a year, and Ravensgate is thriving. We have monthly gallery exhibitions, host critique nights for local artists, teach leather classes, and are bringing on another tattoo artist to work alongside me. We have 10+ local artists who consign with us and our little shop has become a watering hole for the artistic community in our town. Uprooting our life and going somewhere new to open a business we had no model for ended up being a risk well worth taking.

It was also a LOT of work. Making a living as an artist is always a lot of work– more than most people realize. The hours are long and you take work home with you all the time. Being a full-time creative is more than just a job, it’s baked into who you are– you don’t stop being an artist when you clock out for the day. It affects every corner of your life and influences how you interact with the world. You often forgo stability when you pursue a career in the arts. My creative journey has been built on a (occasionally obsessive) refusal to take “no” as an answer, to find a way to carve out space for myself as an artist and find the people who resonate with what I make. Taking a risk is an opportunity for growth. It’s a chance to be uncomfortable, to push yourself in ways you couldn’t have expected.

Each step of my career as an artist has been a risk, but the greater risk is living a life without passion. I would always rather take a chance on something wonderful, even if its going to be hard, than play it safe and wonder what might have been.

Jordan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a tattoo artist, fine artist and illustrator from the mountains of North Carolina. I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts (with a concentration in illustration) in 2016 and have been tattooing full time since 2018. I specialize in custom, large-scale tattoos and digital illustration, though in the past year I have broadened my art practice to include gouache paintings and mixed-media sculpture. After college, I worked for almost two years as a teaching assistant for a study-abroad program in Italy, so it’s no real surprise that my art (and the decor of my shop) is heavily influenced by Renaissance and Baroque motifs and sculpture.

I am also an unabashed nerd when it comes to all things fantastical and pull inspiration from fantasy novels, folklore, mythology, and video games. I am fascinated by old stories and old gods and how our legends reflect on the human condition. My tattooing is rooted primarily in black-work, with an emphasis on large scale single-needle tattooing, illustrative portraiture, and Celtic knotwork. I absolutely love portraits and find particular joy in reinterpreting characters from myths and legends.

In addition to tattooing, I am passionate about the intersection of the various artistic disciplines (fine art, tattoos, crafts, etc) and believe that creativity thrives in community. My husband, who is a full-time leatherworker, and I opened a joint studio in 2022. Ravensgate, located in downtown Phoenixville, PA, is a delightful menagerie of tattooing, leather crafting, and fine art. We host monthly gallery shows and have about a dozen local artists who sell their work in our studio.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I honestly can’t believe that people let me tattoo my art into their skin. It’s one thing to have someone buy a painting to hang on their wall, but to have someone give you part of their body to permanently decorate is an insane sensation. I am so honored by the trust my clients place in me. I, like most people, have my share of body-image issues and don’t always feel at home in the body I have. Tattooing is a way to claim ownership and agency over my body, to decorate it with things that I find beautiful so I can more easily appreciate that it too, is lovely. The most rewarding days are those when I can see the confidence of my client change because of their tattoo. People who never show their legs leave my shop psyched to buy shorts so they can show off their new piece. People leave with new art that’s hidden scars that reminded them of darker times. I have cried with my clients, I have belly-laughed, I have made dear friends through the art that brought us together. My work gets to live out its life as witness to someone’s story, actively empowering and encouraging them to love themselves more. I can think of no better purpose for my art, nor anything more rewarding.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Is it gauche to say pay us?

It’s a simple answer, but that’s the crux of it. I think often about the pandemic, how for 2-3 years we were isolated from one another, unable to engage in the most basic of human social needs. Art was what kept us sane. We watched movies, we listened to new music, we picked up crafts, we decorated our homes. Art was the one thing that kept our heads above water. But despite its obvious value, artists constantly have to explain why our work costs what it does. It seems few people take the time to appreciate how much work goes into the art that they consume.

If you want a world that is beautiful and interesting and fun to be in, support the artists who make it that way.

Contact Info:

• Website: ravensgatepxv.com
• Instagram: @jaybird_tattoos

Image Credits
Juliana Laury, Sarah Danforth.