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The LA-based artist gives you an oracle card reading before the tattoo.

Just when you thought you'd heard of every style of tattooing, a new shop with a very new take on the art form opens up.

Justine Serebrin has actually been tattooing for quite some time, but her "intuitive tattooing" is just starting to take off. Rather than picking artwork off of the internet or off the walls (or even having her pre-draw a custom piece), Serebrin sits down and gets to know each of her clients on a spiritual level before drawing an ornate design for the tattoo – often including a card reading to carefully determine the intent and meaning behind the ink and attaching a tattoo needle to a crystal for a portion of the tattoo.

Myspace sat down to ask Serebrin about intuitive tattooing and her brand new Earth Altar Studio.

How did you first get into tattooing?

It started when I had a vision while meditating, that’s why I went into tattooing. After that, it felt really profound like “I really need to learn how to do this.” I was just finishing art school at the time, and I had my own body painting business. I figured maybe this was the next step to that, so I just kind of tapped into my spirituality – which began with meditating – and saw these visions that just kept coming of this nice, clean, different kind of space to get tattooed in. I felt like I had to figure out how to do it, so I found someone to teach me and got an apprenticeship, and then I left there and started working kind of underground while I was testing out some of my ideas.

Since you started from a traditional apprenticeship, how did you start doing intuitive tattooing?

I worked in a 100 square foot studio, and I knew I wanted to transition more into the intuitive tattooing. I’d let my clients pick out the scent of soap they wanted, and I wanted to make it feel like they were coming into a spa or somewhere welcoming. I’m really sensitive to energy, so normal tattoo shops really give me anxiety a little bit. They’re a little harsh. My clientele has become a lot of really sensitive girls and moms or people who want to get a tattoo for the first time but don’t want to go into a normal tattoo shop. I’m still working on it with some clients, because there still is such a demand for the other styles of tattoo, whether it’s traditional or more creative watercolor kinds of things – really whatever people wanted for commissions and stuff. But I feel like that isn’t really where my heart is anymore, so I knew I needed to teach someone that.

How did your traditional apprenticeship affect the tattoos you do today?

I’m really grateful for that because I was showing a very very clean and professional standard and technique. The work that I do holds up to that standard and integrity. I really believe in everything being as clean as possible. Really fine details and super clean lines, and that was really really instilled in me in my apprenticeship. I don’t think I’d be able to have what I have now if I hadn’t learned that way.

Why did you decide you wanted to do intuitive tattooing instead of a more traditional method?

Tattoos can be so powerful. They really always mark a new chapter in your life. It’s like “I’m different. I’m changing my physical appearance forever.” What I’m doing is just creating more intention and more connection to the experience so people are mindful and focused while being surrounded by love and good energy. We’re opening up our skin and putting ink in, and that creates a really powerful memory of the experience. I’m all about creating a full-body well-rounded experience for my clients, from the smell to the sound. If they’re open to it, we’ll do a little card reading – I made my own oracle cards – so we can tap into what’s going on with them. It helps me dive a little deeper and get to know them more quickly. Then I prepare their skin and draw a design that symbolizes what they are wanting to bring into their life, and then we tattoo it.

Earth Altar Studio has one of the most ornate outdoor spaces of any tattoo shops, but how do you use it?

By the end of this year when the weather cools off, I’m working on getting a platform built in the outdoor area so I can do tattoos outside in a safe way. I’m hoping to get some mosquito nets so flies aren’t around and keep it really clean, because I really want to get tattooing back outside. That’s where it started, so let’s get it back there. For now, how I do it is I take people out to the patio area, and there’s this rug under the earth altar where we will sit and talk about the ideas so I can get to know this person. We don’t have to do a consultation prior – we can do it all in one day – but I want to tap into their energy and vibe and ask them what they came here for or what the tattoo symbolizes. 

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