The Arts & Business Council, Blackbird Media, and F&M Bank have teamed up to present the Artist of the Week on The Nashville Sign. This week’s featured artist is Elisheba Israel Mrozik.
Elisheba is a fine artist and international award-winning tattooist. In 2011, she became the first licensed Black tattoo artist in Middle Tennessee and opened One Drop Ink Tattoo Parlour and Gallery in Nashville with the aim of providing “Ink for All.” Her artwork has been shown at the Frist Art Museum and Fisk University’s Carl van Vechten Art Gallery, among others. Her murals can be seen around the city including outside her shop on Jefferson Street.
“My work exists on two planes—personal and community”
– Elisheba Israel Mrozik
Elisheba is an active member of the community sponsoring charitable events, teaching art classes, and supporting schools. All of her community-building endeavors are to support and grow the careers of artists of color and artists in underserved communities. The 2020 Nashville Emerging Leader Award winner recently begin shifting her focus on creating more personal fine art and connecting fine art with community purpose.
Artist’s Statement:
My paintings capture existence through the lens of the black woman, exalting the wholeness of her form and spirit with regards to the fact that she IS the mother of humanity – that from which we all came. Individual stories, given to me on an intimate spiritual level as I craft pieces for permanent adornment on bodies-vessels of truly unique individuals, bridge my work over to community. The cultural practice of tattooing has always been both an individual and a communal endeavor. Grand, bold and poignant messages for the community at large define my public art whether mural or installation. Always incorporating the black woman in order to change the subconscious propaganda of the past – no longer disparaging her form. The connection we all have through DNA back to one African woman is the shared place I come from when I create for the community with one simple message – We Can All Win.
Learn more about Elisheba on her website.
Want to be featured on The Nashville Sign? Visual artists working in any medium, who are members* of the Arts & Business Council at the Basic Level ($30 annually) or above, are eligible to apply for Artist of the Week on The Nashville Sign.
*Those unable to become members due to financial barriers can be granted a waiver. Contact us at info@abcnashville.org to be confidentially considered for a waiver.