y Renda Writer When I walked into Eternal Ink in Davie on a Sunday afternoon and found Christa Z and Frank La Natra both hard at work on this socalled day of rest, it became evident once again why they are a true “power couple.” I had stopped in to chat with them about what they’ve been up to since we shared their story in our last issue, and as expected, they have both been super busy. Frank seems to have been blessed by the gods of publicity, having racked up features in five magazines in just the last few months, including “Tattoos for Men,” “Tattoos for Women,” “Skin Art,” “Tattoo Society,” and “Savage.” While doing a touch up of some fairy wings on a woman’s back, Frank responds to my question about how he stays so busy and accomplishes so much by saying, “I don’t stay busy by choice. I guess my talent is just keeping me in demand. Being more of a regular artist helps too because people like my artwork and want to collect it... and so getting a tattoo from me is a good way for them to have one of my pieces.” From there, he goes on to tell me about how he has been booking guest spots at tattoo shops around the country and has dates reserved all the way out until next August, with upcoming appearances at Monkey Ink in North Carolina and Broadway Tattoo Lounge in New Jersey. His more immediate plans include preparing for the upcoming Tattoolapalooza convention in San Diego, where he will be one of the featured artists and will also play a big role in organizing the whole event, just like he did for the South Beach Tattoolapalooza back in July. Christa also helped to produce and organize the summer convention, which is why the couple barely had a chance to celebrate their 2 year anniversary that same weekend. In discussing the success of the South Beach convention and her role in helping to put it together, Christa says, “That was a whole different experience for me. I never saw myself doing that... putting together and being a part of a show of that scale. So it was kinda weird, but a great experience overall… and I painted a 4x4 acrylic of Bob Marley live on stage, and sold it for $350.” Later in our conversation Christa gave me a flyer for a new book that she was invited to be a part of called “Pint Size Paintings” (PintSizePaintings.com), which will be released in early 2010, promoting a newly popularized genre of small sized art, which is in great demand these days and will hopefully lead to the financial success that Christa desires and deserves. She emphasizes her goals by saying, “I’ve got a lot of prints I need to sell. I start at $10 and go up to about $150, and I work with people on the prices too.” Never too busy for each other and always intelligently managing their priorities, Christa will be accompanying Frank in his travels throughout the coming 32 Support the scene or there will be no scene to support Power Couple Christa Z & Frank La Natra christa Z painted a 4x4 acrylic of Bob Marley live on stage, which sold for $350 months, and the two will be taking a semester off from their studies at <strong>The</strong> Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale while they focus on their current projects. I left Eternal Ink that Sunday afternoon thinking about one of our slogans here at <strong>WeMerge</strong>, “We help artists that are helping themselves,” and about how well it describes why we were glad to write once again about this couple that is working so hard to advance in their art careers and stay happily in love along the way. MySpace.com/paintingsByChrista MySace.com/LaNatra Other Local POWER COUPLES Let us know who you would like to read about next: Deb Sullivan & Kevin “Kevro” Rouse Well known in Delray Beach, Deb & Kevro are artists, photographers, and co-owners of Kevro’s Art Bar. <strong>The</strong>y compliment and balance each other well and are always working to enhance the art scene in Palm Beach. KevroArt.com Trina Slade-Burks & Anthony Burks Trina is a published poet and Anthony is an artist whose work is coveted by several prominent collectors. As husband and wife, they are very active in the art community and work relentlessly to keep art alive in the local area. <strong>The</strong> two met while attending <strong>The</strong> Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and are Class of ‘88 Alumni. AbsoluteArts.com/portfolios/a/anttri/ MySpace.com/ArtBarGallery Yvonne Colon & Garo Gallo <strong>The</strong>se two have made waves most recently by opening up <strong>The</strong> Bubble in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, a warehouse that they converted into an art gallery, live music venue, and destination site for cool events and cool crowds. <strong>The</strong>y have been promoting the local music scene for several years with their organization, IWAN, and Garo is a member of the band dooms de pop. MySpace.com/BTWMusicproductions IndependentWorkingArtistNetwork.com Leah Brown & Peter Symons <strong>The</strong>y moved here from New York City just over a year ago and Leah and Peter are making some very solid connections to become more involved in the Ft. Lauderdale art scene. <strong>The</strong>ir newly opened 18 Rabbit Gallery in downtown is sure to soon become one of the go-to places for people seeking art and culture. 18RabbitGallery.com LeahBrownArt.com Flickr.com/photos/petersymons Amanda Watkins-Ginther & JR Linton <strong>The</strong>re really isn’t much that this couple doesn’t do. Amanda’s yearly Stitch Rock event is always successful and she continues to thrive with her House of Sweets cupcake business and JR has credentials as both an artist and a tattoo artist that have grown Rock<strong>The</strong>Stitch.com HellcatTattoo.com Slushbox.com <strong>WeMerge</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - www.<strong>WeMerge</strong>Talent.com
<strong>WeMerge</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - www.<strong>WeMerge</strong>Talent.com Support the scene or there will be no scene to support 33
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