Sasha Masiuk
““The interview is happening at Sasha’s tattoo-workshop, during her break””
“Omule : Hi Sasha. I know you started in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Is there any big dig difference between
the Russian scene and the US for example?”
“Sasha : Sure. There is a notable difference in the approaches to the creation of tattoos. Clients in Russia are much more meticulous in choosing the sketch, its design, controlling the flow of work. In America when people come to me – they choose specifically me as a professional and let me go with the flow, as they mostly don’t have the exact idea of how the tattoo should look like, but rather want the tattoo with my design and are open to any ideas. This gives me more space for creativity, inspiration and spontaneity. I believe this happens because in Russia people have a larger circle of options: artists that will do the work at an easy rate and of a high quality.”
“Omule : Do you have an ideal creative environment?”
“Sasha : When I’m working or painting comfort would be the most important thing. And it includes lots of factors, like having all the necessary working materials, good lighting, people around me, pleasant music, absence of irritating or distracting things, general atmosphere…(laughing). Food, of course.”
“Omule : Is it safe to say that you designs are done in black and grey linework combined with dotwork?”
“Sasha : Definitely. This was my starting point – I was a self-learner, I didn’t exactly know how to do It the other way, so, basically, I was following the intuition and recovering my style. I didn’t use blackwork or shadowing and searched for my own ways to add volume to the tattoo and came to use the dot work.”
“Omule : Is there any reason you're not a fan of color?”
“Sasha : On the contrary, I love it: how it looks and the varity of possibiites to use it.”
“Omule : But you don’t want to work with it, because..?”
“Sasha : It is a completely different technique: you have to know and feel the light, understand how it works which is not exactly my cup of tea, I like the dark side ;)”
“Omule : Do you have favorite streetware brands? How about sneakers? Do you have some favorites right now?”
“Sasha : Oh, I love streetwear in general. Comfortable, simple, loose and laconic clothes.
My favourite brands would be Rick Owens, Balenciaga, Maison Margiela, Raf Simons, I’m the fan of all his collections, especially the collab with Adidas: I’m in love with sneakers. This is an item to have in your closet in a lot of variations.”
“Omule : Who is on the guest list for your ideal dinner party?”
“Sasha : I’m a rather private person so for the perfect party I only need my closest friends – people with whom we see each other every day, work and know each for a long time.”
“Omule : What superpower would you like to have and why?”
“Sasha : I would love to have the power to stop the time and just enjoy the moment. In the modern world we often forget to live our lives to the fullest, always thinking about the past or worrying about the future missing the beauty of here and now.”
“Omule : If you had the power, what would you forbid?”
“Sasha : I’d probably forbid to keep any weapons at home.”
“Omule : What would be a great achievement for you?”
“Sasha : I would consider it a great achievement if one of my paintings became a part of an exhibition in a museum or a cathedral.”
