Young Hearts Newest Member: Kat Miranda

I’d like to introduce the newest member of Young Heats Collective: Kat Miranda. Kat was introduced to me by Dean. After a lunch meeting and some sushi we made it official. We get together through the interweb for an interview to discuss life, art, tattoos, beer, and future projects. I’m excited to be working with her in the future.

Kat Miranda

AP: What’s your full name?

KM: Kat Elizabeth Miranda or Katrina, but only my mom and ex boyfriends call me that. Haha

AP: I’ll stick to Kat then haha. Where are you from?

KM: I’m from the valley, my mother is originally from Rhode Island and my dad is from Central America. First generation Californian over here. I cant imagine what I’d be like if I was born back east. I don’t want to think about it.

Self Portrait Assignment

AP: So what kind of art do you do?

KM: Oh man, I was kind of dreading that question. I’d like to say I’m a Jane of all trades. I draw a lot. But only when it comes to me, so it’s a huge… I don’t know obstacle for me to get over as an aspiring tattoo artist. Cause I’m going to have to draw on cue. I dabble in photography, more so now that Dean has taken the time to explain a lot of technical things to me. I learned so much from him during the time we spent in Seattle. It was like a five day photography class with Professor Dean and his mom, Gloria. I loved it. I also have a little music side project myspace.com/kittensandgnomes. It’s like just a weird thing I do when I’m bored. BUTTTT hahaha. My main passion is writing, I have a blog on my Myspace. It gets l about 500 hits a week right now. It’s amazing that people I don’t know actually give a shit about me basically writing about nothing

Portrait of Dean

AP: Are you the type of person that would perform at poetry readings? You should do some slam.

KM: I would love to. I can be pretty shy about that side of me, though. It’s nice to be able to hide behind a keyboard sometimes.

AP: Yeah, it’s much easier that way. But doing that stuff in front of people is pretty intimidating; I guess you have to be pretty ballsy

KM: Oh I’ve got balls, just ask Dean. It’s just that I come out of my shell on my own terms. Haha. For example, it took me a really long time to put some of my vocal stuff online. I waited till it felt right, I do that with everything.

Young Hearts practice tattoo

AP: Who are your biggest artistic influences?

KM: Growing up, I really looked up to Jason Sho Green. I was really inspired by his witty cartoons and blogs. He really introduced me the artblog subculture, I guess. I love Audrey Kawasaki as a painter, she’s just mindblowing. Umm since I’m pretty into the tattoo scene, I really dig artists like Hannah Aitchison, Steve Byrne, and Alex Garcia. But the most influential right now, is the guy I apprentice for, Diablo. I watch him like a hawk when I’m at the shop. I sponge in everything he tells me as an artist and as a person. OH! I forgot FAFI and Miss Van. sick ass girl graff artists. FAFI is super popular now, but i still got mad respeck haha.

Photography

AP: How long have you been apprenticing under Diablo and how did you guys meet up?

KM: Since January. I met him… wow. A little over a year ago? I went into Yoni, the place he was working at the time, and I just went through this horrible breakup days before and was moving to UCSB in 2 days. I asked for a key based off of the kingdom hearts key and a traditional skeleton key. I wanted it on my wrist. I wanted it to symbolize me opening doors for myself as gay as that sounds. He was like, “Arright, no.” He made me wait while he drew something up that HE thought was bomb haha. But it turned out that it WAS bomb, so for the next 4 hours he tattooed me and I told him my life story and we became really close friends then and there. I went to school at UCSB, but always came back for more ink and sometimes just to talk. And we would talk for fucking HOURS. About art and life and I learned to love the feeling of just sitting in the shop. In December of last year I realized I hated the UC system and my life in SB and wanted to do what I loved, which was draw and work in an environment I loved. So I drove back to the valley and walked into Yoni and spent two hours begging him to take me under. It was 3 hours of him saying, “ARE YOU SURE? ITS GONNA FUCKING SUCK.” I was sure, though. That week, I dropped out, found a studio, found a job, and moved on with my life as an apprentice.

Doing work

AP: That’s rad. I really wish I could drop everything and do that

KM: It was hard, no one understood. I was in a fucking sorority. I was the only girl in my sorority with more than 2 tattoos. Try explaining to a bunch of sorority girls that you’re quitting school to tattoo.

Painting

AP: I bet they thought you were nuts?

KM: They didn’t at first, but it was just obvious I was different. Yeah I had tattoos and piercings and chainsmoked, but I didn’t drink every day and hook up randomly like they did. I just kinda did my own thing and it became very apparent that I was only chosen because they though I had a nice looking face.
The only thing I miss about UCSB is how the air smells and feels. Other than that, I’ve never thought twice about leaving.

Portrait of Dean

AP: Do you have any current projects going on?

KM: My current project I’m working on is opening up Sininskin with Diablo (ex-Kathouse). The shop will be opening sometime August and will be on Fallbrook and Victory in Woodland Hills. I’ll be co-owning the shop with Diablo, and will feature artists Sasha (Alex Konkin) who won 2008 best traditional artist at LA expo and best cover in tattto magazine in 2008. If you want to book through me from August through October you’ll get a 20% discount. Check out Sininskin.com, it will be completely up soon, but in the mean time check out www.myspace.com/sininskintattoo. I’ve never been more excited about anything in my whole life. And that’s how I know art is the foremost important thing to me right now. It’s also why I’m so stoked to join ynghrts, I feel that everyone signed on has the same attitude. I dig the young hearts vibe. I really like what you’ve created.

Photography

AP: Yeah I really feel like having a good working atmosphere really helps you develop and become a better artist so its important to me to find people that are motivated and inspired. I’m pretty pumped though I think some big things can happen.

KM: I just want to reiterate how exciting and flattering that you want me on board, as an artist and as your first girl contributor hahaha. I’m excited to have an outlet where I can try some stuff that I’ve been wanting to do, but I haven’t had anyone to share it with yet. I also want to thank Dean for introducing you to me, cause if he hadn’t I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. But besides that check out sininsink.com www.myspace.com/sininskintattooand my twitter account http://twitter.com/goodbyekat