Today we’d like to introduce you to Musca Domestica.
Hi Musca, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Born and raised in central Ohio, with formative beginnings on Hilltop, USA, I’ve moved around 25+ times, went to 10 different schools, and eventually made my way into the city in my teens to discover a broader range of sub-cultures.
I’m a multidisciplinary artist with 30 years of professional tattooing experience; the longest working female tattoo artist in Columbus, Ohio. In my youth, I over-glorified the Catholic Church, but its ceremony, pageantry, and ritualistic derivatives stayed with me, as evidenced in my art and the sanctuary-like environments I curate. I’ve come to use this atmospheric influence as a language in my work with which to express a broad range of concepts. Undoubtedly, my exposure and experience that came with constant change has offered the same.
At age 16, I suffered a head injury which impacted my memory; a subject often referenced in my art. It was a rough path to walk alone, but ultimately saw this experience as a gift, to break away from my life as a passenger, having then become a seeker. Hanging around the city in the late 80’s and early 90’s, I was amongst alternative and creative thinkers uninhibited from external expression. Punk culture lent itself to my wild ideas, and my art began then to take on deeper meaning. My direct exposure to tattoos began in the city of Columbus, and over time, I considered it a medium I’d like to try. I actually did a stick and poke tattoo in 11th grade history class on a guy I skateboarded with, but I didn’t have my sights set on learning then. 🫣
My tattooing career began in 1996, at the age of 23; one year after my son was born. Raising a child while starting a career at such a young age was extremely difficult, especially in such an obscure, male-dominated field at the time and in a small town as it was back then. I was one of just a few women tattooing in the 90’s in Columbus (and now there are too many to count!). It took nearly a decade after beginning to tattoo to return to making art, and it took almost another ten years to prioritize my creativity in an uncompromising way. As I regained independence after raising my son, my work went deeper, became more personal, and matured technically with improved patience, focus, and life perspectives. Since 2008, I have spent my summer’s in Berlin, Germany and travel elsewhere throughout the year to make art or do guest spots at tattoo studios abroad. Everywhere I go, many people who I meet, and myriad experiences I get to live, are folded into my work. My creative life in general is my primary relationship and focus now, all based on seeking and finding within a margin of varying interests.
In 2013, I opened “Spiritus”; a tattoo studio and gallery in Clintonville (3127 N High St, 43202). I work with two very talented friends and my former apprentices; each an artist in their own right. There, I have grown so much as an artist, tattooer, curator, mentor, and student of others in my chair. I’ve done artist residencies in France, Sweden, Germany, Spain, and New Mexico. never enjoyed my work as much as I do now, and that only seems to improve over time. I think the key is just about maintaining awareness and gratitude for the gifts we have and of those offered to us as we learn to accept them.
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We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Raising a child as a single mother while learning a career in a male-dominated creative field most definitely came with its trials. I was told to my face by customers at the tattoo shop I started in when they did not want a woman to do their tattoo. It bother me also then that some people wanted me to tattoo them just because I was a woman. I just wanted my work to have its own legs. I was interested in learning to improve, while there was a lot of posturing in tattoo shops, a great deal of misogyny, and no support for growth. It caused me to seek, experiment, and to critique my own work in such a way that was too often brutal and confining.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Multidisciplinary arts; professional tattoo artist, mixed-media fine art, installation art, event coordinator and amateur curator. I’m proud of all aspects of my creative life but I think I’m best known for these. My work is unique, my stories are personal, and I am constantly improving my process.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I have glorified memories of wandering around by myself in the Catholic Church of my school (St Agnes, Notre Dame- Columbus). I’d wander around to look at the storytelling stained glass windows, the mosaics, and to smell the frankincense. I recall the feeling of sanctuary, as my life outside of that very personal and private environment, was anything but peaceful. I did not feel the same when I was not alone in there, so I snuck in to be alone as often as I could.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.muscadomestica.co
- Instagram: @muscadomestica (tattoo); @muscaeternum (art and process); @spiritus_tattoo (studio)
