Steven Weston: A Life Set Aside
Getting a tattoo isn’t just an opportunity to put ink in your skin. It’s you getting something emblematic of a cool idea or experience you’ve had, and something that looks cool too. Tattoos are memorials for things you want to remember forever and never forget. And for Steven Weston, tattoos are a career as well. Having just finished his year of apprenticeship at Marauder Tattoo in Murray, he’s now become a full time artist and is working to find his own voice in the ink of SLC’s tattoo community. Salt Lily Magazine sat down with him to examine the beginning of his new career path and what has brought him to this point.
What made you want to be a tattoo artist?
Ever since I was young I’ve just always been drawing. I feel like it becomes more meaningful whenever somebody comes in with something that has really affected them, like a memorial or something like that. I wanna be able to affect somebody in that same positive way where it’s like that piece, it’s part of my art, but it’s also a part of their life. So I really respect and appreciate that about art that is very personal.
Artwork by Steven Weston
Where do you pull a lot of your ideas from?
Honestly, I’m inspired by just what’s around me. And I do pull some references, like- I’ll pull up pictures or I’ll use something around the shop and try to pull something from life, and then also I find inspiration from other people [at the shop] as well. [They] have been tattooing for years and years. So there’s already a lot of references. From there it’s just a matter of what my vision is for the final product.
If you could describe your work in three words what would those be?
I like to describe it as dark … it’s hard to describe it in just three words [laughs].
Sure.
Very eclectic … I’m still learning quite a bit so it’s hard to describe exactly what my ideal style is … I’m just really passionate about art and pushing myself. It feels natural to me. I used to be a chef [but then] I definitely needed a change of pace and something that feels more natural to me.
What kind of food did you make as a chef out of curiosity?
I was a teppanyaki cook when I finally got to where I wanted to be. Before that I was char grilling. I would cook steaks and salmon on a char grill, but I would always draw for fun on the side. I would draw for my friends and it was something I always felt passionate about, where cooking I was always just trying to make money. Now I feel like I’m in a spot where I’m trying to start working for myself and do what I actually love doing.
Yeah, that seems to be a bit more pleasing than to just make a buck
Exactly. It feels more fulfilling for sure.
If you could tattoo anyone in the entire world who would it be?
Oh my gosh. I wanna tattoo [Nico Romero]. He’s one of the guys that’s been working here since it opened up ... [Marauder Tattoo] has been open for about three years. [Steve Webster] worked at [Big Deluxe Tattoo] and he wanted to start doing his own thing so he’s been really crucial and supportive.
Seems like things are going pretty well at Marauder.
Yeah, it’s great. I feel like I have a lot to learn tattooing wise and designing wise but I feel like it’s really freeing.
How old were you when you got your first tattoo?
I think it was when I was 17. It was at my friend’s apartment and it was a terrible idea. I’ve gotten it covered up since then. It was under here [showing me a tattoo of an owl on his right forearm].
What was it of?
It was an ‘86’ done as snakes… a snake eating itself. I drew it one way - ‘86’, we’ll start with what that means to me: 86 in the restaurant industry means something is unwanted, short supply, out of stock.... But it terms of society itself, I wanted to be set apart from exactly what everybody was thinking a person should be. I grew up in Texas. Everybody there, just like here, they’re really conservative. It’s very rare when you find like-minded, open-spirited, open-minded people. So with [the 86, it’s] like setting myself aside. So I had this really strong idea and I drew it myself because I wanted it done a certain way and then he ruined it. It was trash. So now I have it covered up with something that I feel is still quite significant, but it’s very different and I regret that first one honestly [laughs]. I got this one [for] my great grandmother.
The owl on your right arm?
Yeah. It’s an owl with a third eye as it’s watchful. I wanted it to be a part of myself and her. So I told my friend [a tattoo artist] I wanted something with an owl on it. [My great grandmother] always had tchotchkes and little knick-knacks of owls. She always thought they were so beautiful. So after she passed that was a very fitting thing.
If you find something fitting yourself, feel free to check out Weston’s instagram account @awokenwizard and see if he can’t make it come to life, or you can go straight to the source and find him at Marauder Tattoo in Murray.
