Conversations with Clover Austin-Muehleck

Today we’d like to introduce you to Clover Austin-Muehleck.

Clover, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? 
So, I always doodled on the margins of my notebooks but didn’t start drawing seriously until college. I went to school for opera singing and always thought I would be a Broadway performer or something. I was so focused on that I barely paid attention to the other art media out there! In my early 20s myself image shifted/expanded a lot and my visual art senses opened up hehe I did a multimedia senior thesis concert with all my friends that included all my vocal studies, in addition, I had a mini art gallery of mine on the stage where we performed! I got my firsthand poke from my friend Karin my last year of college and was obsessed with the process. I asked them for pointers on how to start off, got my materials, and started tattooing myself. It started as a hobby just for myself, but then friends wanted tattoos, and it became an expensive hobby, so I turned it into something more! In January of 2022, I started as a licensed tattooer at my first shared studio space, Odd One Out studio, (formerly Sorry Mom) started by my now dear friend Sammi. I met some amazing fellow artists there. In June of 2023 I started guesting at Neptune tattoo studio opened by Ka (Esther) Chiu and I’ve been there ever since! It’s such a welcoming, accommodating space. I couldn’t have hope for a better tattoo journey this far. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s difficult to create your own business as an artist. I am my own scheduler, promoter and social media manager along with all the drawing and tattooing. It’s a nerve-wracking thing to count on other people wanting your art in order to make a living. I have been and full time and part time nanny throughout the process. Starting this January 2024 I am a full time tattooer and hopefully for the foreseeable future as my reach grows! 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a hand-pole tattooer! This is manual tattooing where I use a welded on bar needle to poke ink into the skin instead of a machine tattoo that oscillates at different voltages to deposit the ink. This is the original way of tattooing! People have been tattooing long before machines and electricity were used! I love the slowed-down meditative process of hand poking. It’s incredibly satisfying to uncover a beautiful design on someone’s skin that wasn’t there an hour ago! I love tattooing ornamental shapes, constellations, and any natural being or thing! I use the grainy dotty texture of hand poke to my advantage in all my designs. 

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Persistence, a growing love for my craft, and whole lot of encouraging friends and family 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: clopokes

 
Image Credits
Roberto Hannibal