Culture Surfing - Miya Bailey rules the City of Ink

Holding down the first part of Art Beats + Lyrics

Artist Miya Bailey has been known to work on canvas and paper, but if you somehow manage to see model Eva Pigford in a bikini, you’ll see Bailey’s best-known work somewhere around Pigford’s right hipbone. As a top-flight tattoo artist who plies his trade from City of Ink in Castleberry Hill, Bailey will be showing his work with a slew of other urban artists in this year’s edition of Art Beats + Lyrics on July 25 at the Foundry at Puritan Mills. No word yet on whether Pigford will show up in a bikini.

Sleeves tattoo placement: “I love doing sleeves. The reason is everyone will see it. And sleeves attract other serious body art collectors. There is something about seeing art flowing around the natural curves of the human body. My fantasy tattoo to do on one of my clients would be a sleeve of Japanese toys with traditional Japanese backgrounds. I think it would be beautiful — just need a free-spirited client to let me do my thing.”

MySpace: “I like to research other artists’ work and I try my best to do the total opposite so my art will stand out and not look like others’. Plus, I feel MySpace is the best way for a visual artist to showcase their talents and lifestyle. You never know who will attract to you by using your artwork as a tool for marketing. You never know who you will meet who will change your life. Plus, my fans and City of Ink supporters inspire me. They always send me positive feedback, and that feeds my drive to work even harder. A lot of people use MySpace for personal use; I only use it for business and to promote my artwork. Thanks, Tom!”

Barack Obama: “I feel America needs change and a REAL leader who can relate to the people. I feel he is the voice to the everyday, hard-working, 9-to-5 people here struggling to feed their families. Look at America. Bush really messed us up, and John-Boy is just W. Bush Part 2, another nightmare. God bless Obama, he is the voice and choice of THE PEOPLE.”

Little 5P vs. Big 5P: “Little Five Points wins. Big Five Points needs more stores and up-to-date fashion. Both have crackheads. Little Five Points dope fiends just beg for money, but Big Five Points crackheads actually will do something for the money: clean your car, walk your dog, something to get their hustle on. But Little Five Points has Wish and other nice stores. I’m a sneaker head and Big 5 needs to upgrade their shoe game.”

Charles White and Mike Giant: “Those two artists blow my soul away every time I see their work.”