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, intensive workshop is a short immersion into the world of tattooing from DIY, through prison, and into professional tattooing. All ‘tattooing’ during the workshop will be done on grapefruits but safety and prevention of diseases transmitted by blood will be covered as well as aftercare. As an introduction to tattoo culture we will begin the workshop by learning ‘stick & poke’, to create small images. As prisons have played a large part in the imagery and development of tattooing we will follow up stick and poke with a how to make your own "prison style" rotary electric tattoo needles. To finish the workshop all individuals will get to use a professional tattoo machine for line work, coloring and shading. Participants should leave the workshop with a basic knowledge of how to accomplish tattooing, by a variety of methods, in a safe and sterile environment.
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.