We have two incredible artists in the shops this month. If you haven't stopped by to see them yet, there is still one more week. Here is a little about Jodi and Dan, May's featured artists.
Dan Wysuph
Dan Wysuph is a local Santa Cruz artist. His work can be seen in everything from playing cards to tote bags to framed masterpieces. As a tattoo artist by trade, he spends his days at O’Reilly’s Tattoo Parlour in Santa Cruz. An acrylic artist and a global celebrity in the tattoo world, we are honored to have his work displayed in Stripe MEN this month.
With children at home, he has been spending long hours revisiting the books and games that he loved as a kid, as well as discovering new artists working in the field of children's illustration. Because of this, he’s had the opportunity to reconnect with how much he loved these images and he is excited to explore this realm himself.
When asked what sparked his interest in the tattoo industry, Dan explained, “Tattooing really reached out and chose me when I was 17, to put it cosmically. I was immediately obsessed from the first time I set foot in a shop. I started getting tattooed the day I turned 18, and by 20 was working in a shop.”
Dan has recently been writing and following his love for storytelling in all its forms. He used to write more when he was younger and is exercising this muscle he hasn’t used in a long time. He is enjoying getting back into it, and we are all waiting on the edge of our seats to see what he comes up with.
Jodi Lyford
While having family deeply rooted in the Santa Cruz area, Jodi Lyford was raised in a small farm town in the Cascade Mountain Range. Camping was her parents idea of a vacation and living intertwined with the local landscapes, flora and fauna became a source of curiosity and creative inspiration from early on in her life. After graduating high school Jodi moved around Northern California continuing her education while maintaining her traditions of connecting with nature and exploring new landscapes and the living creatures that inhabited them. After years of exploring different avenues for her creative energy she found herself re-visiting her love of drawing as she was enchanted by the tattoo realm.
“Under the Southwest Sun” is inspired by a late Summer road trip. Eight National Parks in 7 days. Camping with their dog Bandit, Jodi and Jesse explored desert landscapes, hot springs, towering cacti, white sands, red rock and countless new plants and animals. Stopping at roadside attractions along the way displaying beautiful handmade jewelry, pottery and rugs... taking in the incredible canyons, dense cactus forests and awe inspiring pastel palette of the painted desert. All while settling into the overall slower pace of wide-opened space.
This series was created in the hopes of inspiring the desire to travel, to connect with nature, to reflect upon a vast landscape and to be humble enough to hear its wisdom and be grounded by it. Let us be reminded that we are not separate from Nature, nor are we superior to it. To support our National Parks and truly appreciate how incredibly lucky we are to have them.
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