We’re looking forward to introducing you to Macarena Bravo Espinoza. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Macarena , we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Creating.
I’m referring to things like writing, painting, cooking, knitting, etc. For me, any creative and/or artistic act feels like meditation. Any slow process or one that requires many steps, because I concentrate and disconnect; sometimes I get lost in my own thoughts, sometimes simply contemplating what I’m doing in the present moment.
There’s always a back and forth, an exchange (a lot of inner conversation).
The same thing happens when I’m tattooing, although I’m never alone in this process, but sharing it with my clients also helps me find myself or identify with their stories.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Maca, from Chile and better known as Blekanddots. I’m a multidisciplinary visual artist, but my main job is as a tattoo artist.
My work as a tattoo artist is characterized primarily by the fact that I work without a machine (handpoke technique), and I also work 99.9% of the time with the second smallest needle used for tattooing (3 Round Liner). I inject the ink into the skin by pushing the needle with my hand, dot by dot.
What’s special?
Well, this technique and my working methodology is that the healing process is much faster, regardless of whether it’s a small or large piece. It’s also gentler on the skin, especially for very sensitive or reactive skin.
And my graphic line also differs from the traditional tattoo scene in that it does not follow anything traditional rule (visually speaking), only preserving the primitive and original way of pressing a sharp, pointed tool against the skin to inject pigment (in this case a bar needle). This is how tattooing originated in the history of humanity, without machines. Just pigment and a sharp tool.
On the other hand, being a multidisciplinary artist has allowed me to establish a very flexible creative process, full of experimentation, learning, trial and error with diverse materials and techniques, which sometimes overlap and feed off each other.
They keep my mind fresh, healthy, free, with fewer frustrations and plenty of inspiration to work on my customer projects..
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Hahaha this is kind of funny and ironic to me. My art teachers in elementary and high school.
It’s quite funny, because I never understood their messages. And it’s ironic because I first tried to study law before switching to arts (but I didn’t survive beyond about 8 months in law school).
In elementary school, I had an argument with my teacher because she wanted to force me to take painting classes. I was 9 or 10 years old, and all I wanted was to take Taekwondo classes (the schedules clashed, and I had to choose one of the two).
And on my last day of high school, when all the teachers went to say goodbye, the art teacher came up to me, held my hands, and said, “Please dedicate yourself to doing something with your hands.”
I never took any of that seriously, but that’s because art seemed so normal in my daily life. I spent my childhood and adolescence immersed in creating things: cooking, painting, writing, singing, dancing, cutting my own clothes and altering them. For me, it was just like breathing or another habit in my daily routine.
When I was studying, I contacted my teachers to thank them and tell them what I was doing. It was really nice to see everything in retrospect.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
That I can be stronger than I think and not give up, and also that all the people in my inner circle around me are real, persistent, reliable, and wonderful.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, but you can’t really see the 100% in my public persona. Not at least in a work context.
Just so there’s no misunderstanding: I am myself and I have nothing to hide (you can see that during a tattoo session, hahaha), nor am I pretending to be someone else, but at least on social media, I don’t want to turn my Instagram into a personal diary.
I’m more comfortable maintaining a profile focused on my work, my processes, where everything remains fluid, approachable, respectful, and with good communication. I like my work to stand on its own merits and not on my personality; besides, I believe our artistic work already conveys part of who we are.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What will you regret not doing?
Not opening my own tattoo studio in Chile and not dedicating myself to teaching everything I know that could help others.
It would make me very happy to be able to contribute on a larger scale and from within the world of tattooing, and I would love to achieve this in my country before anywhere else.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blekanddots
Image Credits
Personal Portfolio
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
