Ptarmigan operated in Tallinn from 2011-2014. We no longer maintain any presence in Tallinn, but this website will continue to serve as an archive of the activities produced at Ptarmigan during these years.
This, 3 hour, workshop is a short immersion into the tattooing world. The class begins with a brief discussion on the route tattooing has traveled across cultures, through history and how that relates to the practices we know today. All tattooing during the workshop will be done on fruit; however the prevention of diseases transmitted by blood, health risks, and aftercare will be covered. During the practical portion of workshop, participants will begin by learning ‘stick & poke’. As prisons have played a large part in the imagery and development of tattooing, we will follow up 'stick & poke' with all of the workshop participants learning how to make their own "prison style" rotary tattoo machines (which they will be able to take home). For the finale of the workshop, all individuals will get to practice using a professional tattoo machine on their fruit. Participants should leave the workshop with a historical context for the practice of tattooing, basic knowledge of how to accomplish tattooing (by a variety of methods) in a safe and sterile environment, their own “prison style” rotary tattoo machine and a tattooed piece of fruit.
Justin Tyler Tate was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and grew up in Florida USA. He relocated back to Halifax to attend the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and has since migrated to Tallinn. Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts his solo practice incorporates a variety of media; primarily sculpture, installation and performance. Over the past few years, he has exhibited his work across Canada and internationally. Tate's work investigates the relationship between the viewer and the object questioning the weight of viewership and creation alike.