In this instalment of ‘Inkfected’ the Zombieking makes his way to Ottawa, Ontario Canada to Freeworld Tattoo and Piercing at 139 Preston Street to get inked by Scott McCauley. So to clear all the confusion, YES this is a shop in the Zombieking’s hometown. Finally a shop has all the right components in place in Ottawa, it’s almost like a tattoo collective holding such a variety of styles under one roof. Freeworld has been open just over a year and features several artists, some of which apprenticed in the shop in it’s infancy, some with several years of experience under their belts… but what impressed me was how everyone interacts with each other and their clientele. There is an immediate connection, shop elitism that is so prevalent in other shops in Ottawa just doesn’t exist here. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great artists in Ottawa, but this shop just has… ‘it’. That undefinable thing that made me settle right in with the staff and chatter. There is almost an equal number of women artists as men, the piercing facilities are fabulous, and the shop is easily one of the cleanest I’ve seen!
But let’s get to the meat of the matter- The tattoo that was designed for me by Scott! As you know, the artists are given free reign to design the piece that they wish to have featured here and Scott did a doozy- taking influence from the movie ‘The Dead’. His palate was a rainbow of colours that I did not expect… check it out:
We settled in for the session, sharing stories of our increasingly alike obsessions in his eclectic work space filled with several toys, figures, statues and collectibles. I asked him about his experience, 7 years of tattooing, a passion for drawing even as a child. All the while the rotary machine worked, the time just flew by.
Scott’s easy going nature along with fellow tattoo artist Gretta Alva’s blues music I almost didn’t cry like a child that much! The really telling thing for me was when I asked Scott if he was just guesting here and he said, “No, man…this is home!” There were a couple other people getting work done and since I did my piece, I have dropped in a few more times- the shop is always abuzz with people getting inked .
Here is the piece after healing:
Final Thoughts- If the article isn’t clear enough, let me be frank, I cannot recommend Freeworld Tattoo and piercing enough… in fact, I would go so far to say that this is my new ‘home’ shop. Don’t take my word for it though, try them yourself!
