Conversations with the Inspiring Melis Fusco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melis Fusco.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Melis. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have been creating art all my life. But took a more serious interest in art through ceramics and oil painting my Junior year of high school. I continued through college moving from New Jersey to Gunnison, Colorado to attend Western State College. Now named Western State University, where I received my BFA in 2001. After graduating, I went back to NJ to pass the summer with family while I figured out my next move.

9/11 changed my life. Any plans of heading west again were disrupted, as I some-what fled south to South Florida. I traded mountain life and snowboarding, for beach life and surfing. I continued painting and started collecting tattoos more seriously in 2002. My artist and I would trade paintings for tattoos, as he wondered why I was not tattooing myself. Eventually, what he saw inside of me before I noticed myself, was a tattoo apprenticeship. I took on his offer to be his apprentice in 2003. I worked 40-45 hours a week at my salary job with benefits while apprenticing. Pulling me from home and social life, working about 60-80 hours a week. I started creating tattoos, and the fire inside to create more grew, eventually able to quit my full-time job and dive headfirst into the tattoo industry. I never looked back.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road from 2003 to today has been interesting. I moved a bit which means building up a clientele. Leaning on studios for walk-ins, etc. I worked in Florida full time for a year, following my 8-month apprenticeship. Most apprenticeships last about two years or more. So, I moved through very quickly and was able to start working full time as an artist much faster then most. I carried my grasshopper, young skills I learned in Florida to Arizona in the middle of 2005. Working at a busy studio near ASU until mid-2009. At this studio, I created tattoos 4-5 days a week, 10 hours a day, 4-8 tattoos a day. One day, I did 13 tattoos On, The, Fly. Which means consulting, drawing, set up, tattoo break down and on to the next. Though exhausting, it was a great experience. It helped me find my niche as a tattooer. Coming from a fine art background, painting for myself, I now was simplifying my process to work on skin, and create art within the desired subject matter of my client’s wishes.

Finding my niche was a struggle at first because I felt I was a fine artist of many years, but learning that the two crafts did not blend together so easily. But I was creating still on a daily basis and able to make a living creating art. I had to learn patience, I had to learn how to market myself, create and manage all things on the web, social media, all forms of promotion. I was my own business, I was the product. I had to invest in all things to create the best tattoos possible. I had to learn how to have faith in the process, and trust that hard work, and putting myself out there would all pay off. As only the 4th woman that I knew of in the tattoo industry in the early 2000s, I had to deal with the tough, traditional thinking ways of certain individuals. I was told how I had to do things to create tattoos, such as hard lines, and black for shading… I was questioned constantly about my approach to pieces, I was the low “man” on the totem pole in studios, having to work hard and prove myself to not necessarily gain respect, but to be taken seriously and understood that my vision of tattoos was different from theirs. My approach and application could still have longevity even though it was not how they would do things. I wanted to learn about machines, the in’s and out’s of how the mechanics of them worked, power supplies, making needles, etc. so I did not have to be the “girl” going to the guys of the studio to ask how to fix or tune something. As coil machines needed more attention, whether replacing springs, capacitors, turning a clip cord attachment into an RCA, etc. I became the one that the guys came to, to fix or tune their machines. I wanted to be self-sufficient in what was and somewhat still is an industry dominated by men.

Moving again, back to Colorado finally in 2009, I had to build up my clientele, which now having somewhat of a niche, my feminine style, and color work attracted those clients seeking that style. I did not try to fall into a genre of tattooing. When I would be asked what is your style, I would respond with “meli’s style”, I would explain, what would flow out of me naturally. The best advice I could give to women wanting to take on tattooing is first to swallow their pride or what you may think you have as an artist to bring to tattooing. It is a completely different medium, and it takes time to find will eventually be your niche. “BE REAL”, stay humble, and dont fall for anything that is happening on social media, sure sex can always sell in any area of business, but to have longevity means just be you, produce clean work, and always invest in yourself and your craft. Investing means more than just paying for things that you need, Investing also means to keep taking art classes, sign up for seminars, ask questions, learn from those that you look up to, I can’t stress it enough to INVEST IN YOUR HEALTH. I maybe able to touch on that a bit here, but that is so Important to me. Tattooing can easily let many things slide, partying, diet, lack of sleep, etc. But your body and your art work will pay the price in the long run. And there is no Longevity there.

Thankfully, my tattoo career has become a “well-oiled machine” because of all the work I have done in the past and how I continually tend to my business to keep the engine going. So, the last 5-6 years, I have been balancing the body ailments that have accrued over all those hard-working years. Shoulders, neck, hips, etc. need to have daily tending to in order to go through a workday pain-free. I am an active person, I have been snowboarding for 25 years, practicing yoga for 12 years, I hike, Mountain Bike, rest well, eat well, and I still deal with body pain. There is also a massive energy exchange with tattooing, and protecting yourself is so essential. We sit with clients for hours. For me, a normal day is working with one client from 12-7pm. I work primarily on large pieces, which means I sit with one client for a long period of time. If they have a tough time, I have a tough time. If they come in with an emotional bag, I can go home carrying their emotional baggage. Some clients look to us as therapists. I have worked hard on creating barriers, how I approach these unique situations, but sometimes I can’t always protect myself. And I can end up carrying their pain, their life struggle for a few days following their session. I have a hard time working three days in a row, so in recent years I have been working Tuesday, every other Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays. This allows me some time off from tattooing.

Yet, as an artist and business owner, I work almost every day, whether prepping for a workday with drawing the day before, email consulting, inventory, leaving little time to paint so that becomes harder to bring into my daily life. I do still paint just not as often. I will be working 2-3 days a week in 2020 giving me more time to do more personal creative endeavors.  Also, days off, I must counteract all the sitting, so a normal day off will be emails in the morning, followed by a seasonal activity such as swimming, hiking, snowboarding, biking, in order to be able to sit and draw or painting for the rest of the day. Finding balance in tattooing has taken many years. And the see-saw of life has things coming and going. But I feel I have been able to have a good balance between work life and free time while creating even more free time to create more art for me in 2020.

What should we know about Black Sage Studio? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
What I do best with tattooing, is really what I bring to tattooing that is different. I have my own style. I love doing color work but will not shy away from Black and Grey. Most of my subject matter is nature-inspired, I create a good amount of feathery, scaley, flying or swimming subjects. Some female forms, and mountain scenes. I create larger-scale works when I can, focusing on how subject matter flows with the body. The energy of me and my client shows in each piece.

I am really proud of what I have created with my studio Black Sage, in Evergreen. I have owned Black Sage now since 2014. Offering clients and artists a private space to work and concentrate on tattooing without the busy street shop vibe. I have been there, done that, and have always had anxiety in busy shop settings.

What sets us even more apart from other studios is that Black Sage invested in the highest quality Laser tattoo machine for removal and lightening tattoos for a proper cover up. It’s a Quanta Q-Plus laser machine that can lighten or fully remove tattoos of every age and color without scarring or pigmentation changes.  My husband Jim invested in learning all there is to know about laser tattoo removal with the most well known Quanta Laser Technician in the world. We work together to help our clients love their skin. We would rather tattoo cliental come to us, as appose to medi-spas.  We have over 40 years of combined tattoo knowledge in the studio, knowing the process and color palette is such a great help when clients are in need of laser treatments. Not only do we have the trust of our clients in both areas of tattooing and laser removal/lightening, but we have also created a community of other tattoo studios, their artists and helping their clients needs for laser.  We sponsor local shops, assuring artists in other studios to know that their clients are in the best of hands.

Being in Evergreen Colorado, I love the mountain environment that our clients and fellow artists get to be immersed in.  Especially when clients fly in from out of state, getting that real Colorado mountain vibe for their experience is important to me. A private tattoo studio offers a calm atmosphere, allowing the client to relax, and artist to concentrate. Each artist has their own room, so it is not like a gallery setting where everyone is right next to each other. We do not get distracted from walk-in clientele even though walk-ins are always welcome if they are lucky, haha, but most of the time, appointments are made for another day. My schedule for appointments is booked at this time until February 2020. And a few other artists in the studio are about them same. While my apprentice Sharon Healy is able to take clients sooner.

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I grew up in a strict, Italian, Roman Catholic family. My parents had four girls, and my dad adopted my aunt when she was 13 after his mother passed away. My parents put us in plenty of after school activities, and summer camps to keep us busy and out of the house (or out of their hair, lol). We had the freedom of running around the neighborhood until the street lights came on. The TV did not turn on until after dinner. We had to be creative, use our imaginations, and climbing trees literally to pass the time. We all became, “doer’s and shaker’s.” When we all were of age to work, we didn’t get much financial support from our parents. If we wanted it, we had to work for it. My dad was an entrepreneur, owning many businesses my whole life. I worked in some of them and learned his skills at a young age. I put myself through college, I bought every car, cell phone, insurances, etc. I learned what it was like to be an adult at a young age. Tattooing became the fun, rebellious activity I fell in love with at a young age. I starting getting tattooed at 17, with no parent approval. I love the subculture, the freedom of self-expression when I had the ability to create myself in my own vision. No, my parents didn’t like it, but now, they love telling everyone about the business I have created, where in the world I have traveled to tattoo, my mountain home they love to come to visit, all things because of tattooing, they have finally grown to love.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3072 Evergreen Parkway Suite 200, Evergreen, CO
• Website: www.missmelis.com
• Phone: studio website www.blacksagestudio.com
• Email: artbymelis@gmail.com
• Instagram: meliis_eye

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