Broken hearts and daggers in the Traditional stories on skin by Gaia Zeta

In her work, she tells feelings, passions and stories. For her, Traditional is the best language to express all of this.

Italian by birth and a world traveller, Gaia is also the author of a new eBook in our digital library tattooebooks.com In this interview she tells us about herself, a passionate activist for the environment and animal protection, and about her encounter with tattooing, which has definitely shaped her personality.

Hello gaia i hear you just got back from a work trip. where have you been?
Hello! Yes, I have been to Cape Town, South Africa, where I had a really good time.

Where is your official home and where do you work at the moment?
I have my own shop in Ladispoli, it’s a small city by the sea close to Rome, and for most  of the  time you can find me here. I also work a few days a month at The Grim Reaper Tattoo, shop owned by Luca Mamone, located in a very central neighborhood in Rome. At this moment I’m traveling to Torino, that is like a second home for me, where I work alongside one of my best friend Gaia Leone.

You are known for your traditional style. which interpretation did you chose for it?
I love talking about feelings and stories through my tattoos and paintings. For me traditional icons are the kind of images that suit this purpose perfectly.

My works are based on the most classic references of traditional tattooers from the past and on vintage illustrations.

I’m really glad to create different compositions and talk with the clients about their tattoo experience.

I think that very  often the best works come from the “connection” between customer and tattooer.

Who are your technical and visual reference points?
In the last few years I traveled a lot and this gave me the chance to work alongside a huge number of very talented tattooers, and this made me grow technically and stylistically. I’m constantly learning.

My greatest inspirations and favorite tattooers are Bara, Paul Dobleman and Theo Mindell, I think they gave an incredible contribution to the traditional way.

From the Italian scene, definitely Stizzo, I love the romance of his tattoos and I think he is the best painter around at the moment. We are good friends too, he gave me some advice about tattooing that I always keep in mind.

What are the personal passions that moved you to tattooing?
When I was a kid, I used to spend hours in my bedroom drawing and paintings. My favorite subjects were horses and birds. As a teenager I became obsessed with an Italian comic about zombies, reapers and sexy ladies.

Now that I’m a disillusioned adult, I’m just into daggers and broken hearts 🙂 so actually, drawing was the first real connection I had with tattoos.

I was always fascinated by tattoos, but only about the way they look on the body, I didn’t know anything about the culture and the background behind it.

I discovered about actual tattooing since the first day I walked into a tattoo shop, and I feel very blessed and grateful now for being a part of this magical world.

You seem to be a very dynamic person and full of initiative. is that so? how would you describe your personality?
Oh yes, It’s definitely as you said! I am basically a hopeless romantic person, often way too sensitive, I believe in standing up for animal rights and other environmental and social causes.

Becoming a tattooer has definitely shaped my personality, I’ve learned empathy, gratefulness and I have met the best people I have in my life.
I owe it everything, all I experienced during the worst and the best times, all the joy and tears.

We have just published your new ebook “traditional icons” in our digital library. how did you choose the illustrations?
I collected my favorite drawings of the latest months, trying to give a complete vision about the most classical subjects of traditional tattooing. Each one of them has become a tattoo, except for a couple of drawings that I just used for paintings. I hope you enjoy it!