FIDEK: A new tattoo and piercing shop, has opened in Shawville. The store had their grand opening on Wednesday, and business owner XTina (pronounced ‘Christina’) spoke with The Equity about her new venture. It’s hard not to notice XTina’s own body modifications – she has . . .

bold tattoos visible on her face and neck, and turquoise dreadlocked hair.

But by far her most noticeable physical modification, is the colour of her eyes. Not the colour of her irises, but the colour of her sclerae: the part of your eye that should be white – XTina’s are teal.

The tattoo artist has no reservations or discomfort in discussing any of her personal motivations or choices. “I was the first woman in Canada to have scleral tattoos,” she explained. The procedure is not something XTina offers at her store. It might not even be something she could offer at her store. “Scleral tattooing falls into a legal grey area,” she said. “My store follows the rules — we don’t do anything we’re not supposed to do.”

Moving through her reception area, it becomes apparent the store occupies a surprisingly large space. Working with the building materials and lighting, XTina has created an inviting, uncomplicated aesthetic. Friendly, but professional. In her ‘back’ room, she has a studio that is ready for business. She sat on one of her tables, in front of a collection of inks and piercing equipment to discuss her business endeavour.

XTina began experimenting with body modification when she was 14. “I got suspended from school after being caught with a bunch of friends — we were using India ink and a sewing needle to give ourselves ‘homemade’ tattoos,” she said.

As adults, many of us carry physical reminders of our youthful indiscretions. XTina has preserved one of her first neophyte attempts – it serves as a reminder as to how far she has come: “I haven’t covered this one up,” she said, revealing a small, wonky tattoo on her inner calf.

Inking herself was, she believes in retrospect, “a form of self-harm,” likely resulting from teenage angst. She speaks of her journey toward self-understanding and learning. I didn’t practice on artificial skin,” she acknowledged. “I just went straight for the real thing, and I was willing to wear whatever mistakes I made while I learned.”

As she grew more confident and sure of her technique, friends started volunteering to give her anatomy upon which to further hone her skills.

Even with the affirmation of friends, and years of experience as a graffiti-style spray-paint artist, XTina was nevertheless hesitant about committing to a business venture. She expressed her introspective ruminations: “I feel like it’s pretty common for artists to be inhibited by self-doubt, and it’s really hard to cross that barrier where you can feel comfortable and confident that your art is worth something,” she said.

The studio is being shared by a visiting artist, Max “Poppins” Carrière, who was a latecomer to the conversation. The pair are comfortable and jovial together, and their artistic preferences allow for them to be complimentary, but not competitive with each other in a business setting: “I only do black ink – Max does the colours,” explained XTina.

Carrière will be taking appointments in Shawville, but will also be working in Ottawa and other places. “I like to travel, and be unrestricted,” he said. Carrière will be at the store on a regular basis and for appointments, but on a day-to-day basis it will be XTina performing tattoos and piercings.

The store is still in the process of being created, and they stood in the front room, discussing their plans. “We will be selling art,” XTina said, looking around at the empty walls.

“This space is big enough, and we want to set up art activities here so people from the community can use this space to gather and be creative together. We want people to come here, to make this a comfortable, welcoming place.”

Carrière was emphatic about his interest in supporting community-minded initiatives: “I feel strongly about participating in charity and taking an active role in the community,” he stated. “I am interested in supporting charitable endeavours, and as such I am willing to make my tattoo services available to assist worthy causes – should any appropriate organizations be interested, please reach out,” he concluded.

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