Meet Ruthie Partin | Tattoo Artist, Fine artist, and Community Volunteer.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ruthie Partin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ruthie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Starting your own business is a huge gamble! A bravery test unlike any other. Will the phycological and monetary gains come together enough to prosper and succeed? There’s only one way to find out and really that’s being able to take your dream and break it into short term goals that lead to the long-term goal. YOU CAN DO IT! Yes, it’s a lot of taking risks, being brave, confident, and hoping you’re doing it right. I knew when I set out to open Avant Garde Tattoo and Fine Art, that I was going to need the right location, in a growing community with accessibility, but that also needed more cultural value. That was six years ago now, and I’m thankful every day that my husband and I chose to build our art business in Gainesville, Texas. We were even lucky enough to lease a large building on highway 82, which intersects with i35. Our clientele travel to us as if we’re located in the center of a spiderweb and all the major highways lead right to the front door. We have level 99 clients that are amazing and willing to make long commutes to us from sometimes very long distances. They are the real most valuable players!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve officially been tattooing for 20 years! It’s so hard to believe that much time has passed since I first convinced my mom to let me do that super painful single needle rose on her shoulder, but I’m sure glad she was willing to let me. She motivated me, inspired me, and believed in me. Thanks MOM, I owe you another “ouchie” when you’re ready! I dedicate much of my time to my tattoo clientele in hopes that I can produce for them a piece of work that we can both be proud of. Sometimes it’s hard to synthesis what their vision is into my style of art, so over the years my clients have transitioned into what I call “almost Christmas” because they usual have zero idea what they are getting until the stencil is on, or until I’ve crazily drawn all over them in sharpie. Talk about a bravery test. Again, these are the MVP’S, I’m sure you can agree. When I’m not tattooing, I create fine art pieces to showcase in the next exhibition, or when I’m lucky enough, get selected to show in a prestigious gallery. I received my bachelor’s of fine art (B.F.A) from ECU in Ada, OK, where I studied sculpture in various forms as my focus. I’m currently in my first semester of my Masters of Art, with a focus in Arts Management at OU. I hope to use my knowledge and experience as fine artist and my new education about community funding, art grants, and creative arts management to improve communities in the very near future. I will be able to assist galleries, organizations, and city boards, with developing new enriching and culturally valuable opportunities.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Since you just found out, my family are little go getters, and we are probably way too busy of our own good. People love to say, “I don’t see how you guys do it!?” Truth is, we don’t either! It helps though, to every now and then get away from it all. So, I would recommend going to our favorite spot! The Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge located between Gainesville and Sherman Texas. This place is SO peaceful! It’s 11,320 acres of beauty overlay the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma. So, create that perfect picnic, pack the sunscreen, wagon, chairs, and most definitely the camera! You will feel hugged up by its beauty, nature, wildlife, and peace! Just reminiscing about it, I think I’ll head there now!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband, Charles and our four sweet babies, Bodhi, Alder, Iris, and Lotus, are my ENTIRE life force. Without the constant love, encouragement, and motivation my family fuels me with, I wouldn’t be able to continuously push as hard as I do to create a better future. Every day that I wake up and get ready to push the boundaries of what I can accomplish, it’s because I want to inspire my family to be leaders, to be involved, and become whatever they dream of. I want to influence them to do whatever they can dream of and show them that with hard work and a crazy amount of dedication, anything is possible. The majority of my time is spent at the tattoo studio, or in the art studio connected to the tattoo studio, with my family. Together we paint, sculpt, study, and do the occasional skateboarding trick with Dad. We’ve created so many beautiful memories as a small business owner family. When I’m not in the studio, I dedicate my time to GAVA (Gainesville Area Visual Arts), a non-profit organization with the mission to inspire and share the knowledge of visual art with the community. I was invited to GAVA by one of my now great friends, Joe Conner, who I am grateful for recommending me for this article. I am so thankful that Joe scheduled a tattoo, so that we could meet, and the rest was history! I am thankful for my connections with Joe, and to have someone I can really share my love, knowledge, and mania for art with, and within the community!

Website: www.partinfineart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goblincorefolklore/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Avantgardetexas

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@partinfineart8372