We had the good fortune of connecting with Todd Showdown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Todd, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
Following the projects I love is a priority. For me to succeed at a piece of art, I must first love the concept and love the design. If I choose to make fear, or guilt, or pursuit of money a priority, I always see significant failures in my work.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
During grad school I was asked to apprentice by a tattoo shop owner nearby my college. I hesitantly took the position. In just a few months, I ran into Guy Aitchison at a local coffee shop. I introduced myself and talked for a while. We departed. A few months later, I was texting a client to reschedule her tattoo appointment and I mistyped her number. I got a response saying, “You’ve got the wrong number. This is Guy.” I didn’t think there was an inkling of a chance that I could have accidentally picked out 10 random digits that belonged to the stranger/celebrity I just met. So I brushed it off. A few months after this, I graduated and took a job at Morthland college. I was visiting Stockholm, when I got a text from the number I had mistyped, saying: “ We’d like to invite you to a Hyperspace painting party at my studio…” I replied, “Is this GUY Aitchison?” He said yes and gave me the invitation. I returned home, painted with other artists on Guy’s property and turned in my resignation to the college just three weeks after accepting the job. I took it as a sign that I should give myself solely to learning how to tattoo.

A short time later, a smudge in a stencil fooled me into tattooing 6 toes on a baby footprint design! I spent the next 5 days in bed. Having nowhere else to go, I faced the brutal local facebook tattoo hate groups and resumed tattooing. The ass chewing my boss gave me was the greatest lesson I ever learned and I completely honor my mistakes.

As far as my art goes: I use very specific ratios and geometry in my designs. I borrow these ideas from nature, because it tends to design in a ratio of 1:1.68 . It’s my hope that the wearer of my work will start to question why the human body was created in these ratios as well. And whatever conclusion they come to, be it God, or a series of random accidents in nature, I hope that it brings them a very deep appreciation for themselves.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I try to keep my life very parasympathetic. So, time in nature at Rocky Mountain National Park would be a must. Denver Art Museum and Meowolf are always fun to show to guests. My home town, Fort Collins, has a few cozy pubs; The Social, Lucky Joe’s, The forge, and The Elizabeth Hotel are some favorites. I’d even be excited to see a concert at the Clover Lick Banjo shop.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to thank Caleb Knobel. He is an owner that always fights for the individual artist to succeed on the terms that bring them their own greatest personal fulfillment

Website: www.toddshowdown.com

Instagram: @toddshowdown

Other: TikTok: @Toddshowdown

Image Credits
-Todd Showdown

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