Meet Your Artist!
I have been drawing all my life, even when I was a small child. I guess art came naturally for me having a mother and father who loved to do it as well. My dad, experienced art mostly as a musician, found art a joy and was creative in various ways. My mom was a stained glass artist and also did various crafts through the years. I used to color in books and lucky for you I can still stay inside the lines! As I got older I also used to draw the cartoon strips of Garfield by Jim Davis. I never expected to finally meet him in Muncie as an adult and ask why does Garfield love lasagna so much? It was such a pleasure to meet him only to find out my favorite childhood artist also loves lasagna!
My name is Daniel (some know me as Dan) and I have been an apprentice and started tattooing in 1993. Wow. That’s 30 years now! Prior to returning to the tattoo industry full time, I spent several years training as a medic and medical laboratory technician in the military. I didn’t know it then, but the Army gave me the medical training I wanted to help improve the tattoo industry.
Back then, tattooing was still not as clean as it would be today. I focused on quality artwork, cleanliness and sterility while building my first tattoo studio, Lucky Rabbit and ran it successfully for 20+ years, before deciding to scale back and open a private studio. Street shops are great for many reasons, and I realized the need for a private studio as they are a different breed. I really enjoy all that Signature Rose has to offer!
The majority of my clientele are people who have thought about getting tattooed for at least 1-2 months or more and have some idea of a design. My ideal client is someone who shows up for appointments, hydrated, fed and ready for a tattoo session!! I enjoy being on time and love a good session! I usually see people from all walks of life and most of those enjoy and appreciate being heard and listened to about their tattoo design and may be drawn to a more relaxed or spa-like atmosphere, where there is less commotion and more room for personal attention.
The new studio is located in a small business office in Muncie, Indiana, near Ball State University. This space allows me to relax in the calming environment to be myself and pursue my passions including continuing my art education, improving my tattoo ability, establishing healthy/long lasting relationships with clients and giving my best effort each day!
I thoroughly enjoy being in nature and love bringing that to the surface of someone's skin. Plant life and animals alike challenge my detail-oriented mind and I enjoy bringing flow and imagination to pieces that my customers will love. I love … family tattoos, these ideas make such good memories and I’m happy to be a part of it! I do enjoy doing small pieces as well as they give me a much needed break in between the large ones!
I am always trying to pursue more challenging color work, especially intricate aquatic sleeves or more large scale black and grey pieces. My favorite styles to work in are illustrative, black and grey realism/portraiture, and neo-traditional; some subjects I enjoy tattooing are realism, or artistic pieces where I can stretch my imagination and artistic ability, anything Star Wars, comic book or fictional characters, fantasy pieces and faith based tattoos!
I enjoy challenging myself in many ways, but some tattoos I will happily pass on, as I am not comfortable tattooing certain subject matter, etc. I do reserve the right to turn down anything for any reason. Sometimes we just aren’t a good fit is all, and I hope you find the right artist!
At the end of my day, if I could name a perfect tip what would it be? I’m grateful for a tip any day! But the people who share their food, or venison, etc. for me to bbq/smoke tend to stand out! I love a good cut of meat!
If you have any questions at all feel free to submit your inquiry through the connect page to embark on an extraordinary tattoo journey where privacy, focus, and creativity converge to create a masterpiece on your skin. Your body is your canvas!