Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremiah Griswold.
Jeremiah, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Jeremiah Griswold is the owner and lead artist at White Whale Tattoo in Cincinnati, OH. Jeremiah has been tattooing for more than a decade and has created a unique style of tattooing that blends his love for pointillism and the mastery of woodcut linework. Jeremiah began his apprenticeship in 2007 while living in Guatemala where he volunteered in gang prisons and a marginalized community known as La Limonada. The apprenticeship began when he helped create cover-up tattoos for former gang members who were seeking personal transformation.
Jeremiah’s studio, White Whale Tattoo, references Herman Melville’s epic novel Moby Dick; a formative novel for Jeremiah while studying English Literature at University of Cincinnati. He later obtained a Master of Arts in Global Urban Leadership from Bakke Graduate University in Seattle, WA. White Whale was born out of this intersection of Jeremiah’s passion for art, literature, and social justice.
White Whale has grown to a team of six artists and continues to travel annually to Guatemala to provide free coverup work for former gang members, sex workers, and others hoping to change their personal narratives. A significant portion of the proceeds of White Whale goes to support organizations that are advocating for and empowering the economically disadvantaged locally and globally.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Jeremiah works in what might be considered one of the most challenging mediums as a tattoo artist. He has created a unique style of tattooing that combines the mastery of woodcut and engraving-style linework combined with pointillism. He enjoys creating visual interpretations of literary passages as well as symbolic scenes that outwardly express milestones of an individual’s inner journey.
Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
I believe one of the biggest challenges an artist must face is to create from a unique place; to learn to listen to one’s own voice and have the courage to release that voice through one’s work. There is often a temptation to create work that will earn the most praise of the public or to follow trends, rather than to do the hard work of discerning the gift one was given to share with the world.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Jeremiah’s work can be found online at www.whitewhaletattoo.com or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/whitewhaletattoo. For more information about booking and inquiries please visit the website.
Contact Info:
- Address: White Whale Tattoo
- Website: www.whitewhaletattoo.com
- Email: whitewhaletattoo@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitewhaletattoo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteWhaleTattoo/
