If Cymatics is the study of visible sound and vibration, there is an artist in Nelson that’s at the head of the class: Aza Samchuck, owner of Cymatica Tattoo.
Behind the images that grace people’s skin, is equipment that rarely finds its way into the spotlight the way body art does. Samchuck builds custom tattoo machines that are one of a kind, and production line tattoo machines for use in the industry.
“I started machine building in the very beginning back in the early nineties,” he said. “I went shop to shop selling tattoo machines and basically getting lessons from tattooists. As time went on, I ended up tattooing full-time.”
Samchuck opened Cymatica at 511 a Lake Street four years ago. It is the first solo studio for an Edmonton, Alberta import. Now established in the community, he’s able to earn a living at the shop full of natural light and wood giving it “a Kootenay feel,” he said. He’s doing what he’s dreamt of since being a youth interested in art.
“It clicked with me ever since I was young. I knew I was going to be an artist and I just needed to find a kind of art that was awesome and profitable,” he said. “Tattooing sort of rolled around and I realized I could do both. I could be artistic and make a decent living.”
The type of work Samchuck likes to do changes every couple of years. Some styles that have captivated him are tribal art, biomechanics, “solid colour bombs,” and realistic tattoos.
“I meet new people and get turned onto new styles that they may be into. I go to tattoo conventions and when I go home, I’m sort of on a new trip, a new style that I am into. It just evolves as time goes on,” he said.
Samchuck is just back from West Rock tattoo convention held in Victoria.