Ani Corvus
“I am fascinated by the perfectly imperfect.”
Making art has been a part of Ani’s life since a child:
“I don't even remember a time when I didn't have a pen in my hand. I was probably nine when I decided that I wanted to be an artist, and even more so one who makes nature-themed pictures. Lots of birds for sure!”
Ani became interested in tattoos in middle school when she got to know a tattoo artist. At that time, he also started dreaming about her own tattoo.
"Looking at the works of Finnish artists at the time, I noticed that the style had to be chosen either realism or old school, and I thought it was terribly boring that pictures were made so narrowly here. That's how I started thinking if I could bring something new to the industry. It took years, while I honed my own style and got to know the industry, before I finally had the courage to apply for a traineeship.”
Ani has an education as a visual artist. She has been doing tattoos as a profession since 2014.
“The development of my own style has been influenced by my love for crafts and storybooks, their wonderful illustrations bursting with plants. Old nature books where there were hand-drawn pictures also inspired. I had one when I was little and carried it with me everywhere. I have also tried to bring a certain kind of sensitivity and draughtsmanship and a lively line to my works. I want them to show my handprint and not try too hard to smooth it out. The perfectly imperfect fascinates me.”
Passion for art
“Since art is my passion, I also do other visual arts besides tattooing, such as: I paint, draw and my latest interest is graphics. I don't want to limit myself to just one way of doing things.
When painting, for a long time, my favourites were ink and watercolor. At the moment, I have made more paintings with acrylic. I like to try everything new and sometimes I might find myself painting with a toothbrush. So the traditional brush is not always my favourite tool.
When drawing, I use markers and dry and oil pastels. As a child, I only drew with dry pastels and they have been coming back to my work for a long time.
When drawing and painting, my style is a little different than when tattooing: Much more playful and freer when no one is setting boundaries. I can just imagine my own strange world without rules! Nature subjects and lots of birds - of course.
Otherwise I wouldn't be me!”
Wonderland
“At the moment, I find the world a rather oppressive place, so in art I find myself digging even deeper into my own wonderland where horses can fly, tits have warm socks, people are just creatures from bad dreams, and they don't even really exist and untouched nature is not just a mere memory.
I also find myself wanting more colors all the time. In tattoos, I use color quite sparingly, so when I paint, I rejoice with colors for that too!
In general, there is such a relaxation in doing things these days. I no longer only think about the end result, but enjoy the process to the fullest."
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Art
High quality art prints by Ani. Limited editions. Made in Tampere, Finland.
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Design by Ani
Shirts available in our web store. Made by order, printed in Tampere by us!
Free time
“I have quite a lot of interests and sometimes it seems difficult to balance between them all...
But in addition to art work, I also do the following: I like to move in nature. I am really interested in plants and their properties as food/medicine. Picking berries and mushrooms and kayaking are some of my favorites, something my heart would like to do so much more.
Birds are my great passion and I never tire of observing or studying them! I also go to my cabin where there are no amenities like electricity or running water and it is the place where I feel the most I belong and the place where I can be completely relaxed and myself.
In addition to these, I do yoga and meditate. It's so good for the mind and body, and I wonder how I ever managed without it. In general, I'm interested in all kinds of hand-made things. As long as you don't have to sit at the computer!”
Three questions
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I've heard that the first picture (which was not just a hoax) that I drew showed - surprise surprise: a bird! From there the thought started…
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I would hope that people would learn to appreciate nature and other animals. Meaning that, for example, we wouldn't eat animals anymore, and we wouldn't enslave them. Then I could hope for freedom from the squirrel wheel.
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The end of the world.
