Today we’d like to introduce you to Tami Jo Urban.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Born and raised in Detroit, I hold a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan in Medical & Biological Illustration. My professional work history includes General Motors (Illustrator), Campbell-Ewald (Web Developer) and JGA (Creative Director). I started tattooing at 18 years old and continued to do so throughout my education and careers. In 2007 I quit my corporate life and opened a boutique (Time is carving Tattoo Studio) in metro Detroit where I worked as a full time freelance and tattoo artist. In 2009 I moved to Miami Beach continuing the same freelance career. I fell so in love with the city that I sold my house in Michigan and never looked back. August 2017, I opened the doors to The Urban Machine Tattoo Studio, another boutique inside of Junior & Hatter, my own little slice of Wynwood. I am happiest when I am creating. As a trained illustrator I tend to lean toward highly-detailed drawing, but I am known to splash paint around as well. I enjoy exploring new media and techniques that expand the boundaries of creation. Both Tattooing and Medical Illustration entered my path with little effort on my part and both have proven to be my strongest allies and greatest passions.
Please tell us about your art.
I am a mostly flat/2-D artist. I love to do highly detailed technical and medical illustrative work. I prefer to do realistic tattoos. However, for all art it’s love of the process therefore as long as there is a crayon in my hand I’m pretty happy. The biggest success gauge for my art is the reaction to the content. I like to create things that capture a single moment in time and space that is rendered so the viewer can almost feel the movement to the next second/frame. I also love to put “normal” subjects into abnormal or bizarre situations to force the viewer to question his or her own sense of truth.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
I define my success by the way my completed work makes me feel as the creator in addition to the initial reactions of my audience. I don’t seek accolades or contemplated conversation, I watch for the smirk or gasp the viewer expresses before processing what he/she is seeing on a cognitive level. It’s the base emotion that speaks to me. That’s the real deal.
Contact Info:
- Address: The Urban Machine Tattoo Studio
2750 NW 3rd Ave
Miami, Florida 33127 - Website: http://tamijourban.com
- Phone: (586) 773-9974
- Email: info@tamijourban.com
- Instagram: @tamijourban
- Facebook: @tamityville
- Twitter: @tamijourban
Image Credit:
Photo of Tami Jo Urban by James Guy.
Photos of art and tattoos by Tami Jo Urban.
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