‘Ink Master’ exclusive: Gia Rose on elimination, what made women’s alliance strong
So far this season of “Ink Master” has really been marked by a few distinctive traits. For one, you’ve got the whole “Peck v. Nunez” twist that dominated the majority of the season; then, you’ve also got the women’s alliance that was one of the most interesting strategic plays we’ve seen in some time. The first major strike against it came this past week, as Gia Rose found herself eliminated right before both teams will be competing on a weekly basis.
Below, you can see what Gia had to say about her controversial elimination, the success of the alliance, and what she’d change if she got an opportunity to take part in the show again.
CarterMatt – We were surprised to see you go home over some of the other tattoos in the bottom this week: What do you think happened?
Gia Rose – To be honest, it was absolute mayhem down in elimination. There was a lot of debating! I was completely shocked to go home over the 3 others simply by the rules of the competition. We were told, ‘head to toe pin ups, we wanna see hands, feet and legs’ then also the ‘report cards’; by these two standards alone, I beat Boneface AND Nate. Nate didn’t do legs and Boneface was in the bottom one more time than I was if you include every tattoo we did with the shoulder armor! I really didn’t feel like I could have done any better and Chris wouldn’t budge, so Oliver made his choice, which I respect. If he didn’t think I should have gone further, than I accept it. But it did seem like everyone except Dave wanted to bust up the lady alliance!
We have never seen a female alliance on ‘Ink Master’ before: What do you think made you four so strong?
The most important part of this alliance is that we are all VERY strong and talented Tattoo Artists. Our own portfolios and work just speaks for itself. We never once tried to uphold each other if it wasn’t earned or due. We mostly wanted a fair playing field so we just agreed to not throw each other under the bus. And stick up and speak up for each other when and where it was deserved. Honestly we had never met before the show but all KNEW of each other. So when we met, we just became instant friends!! It was our immediate respect for each other and our friendship that spurred the whole ‘female alliance’ and as soon as the rumor went around the house, it threw the boys into a tizzy! So we just let them run with it. I’d say that they created it more than we did. It just so happened that the girls are mostly the better artists or on par with the boys this season. Which I guess is pretty rare in our industry.
Who do you think out of your alliance has the best shot at winning this season?
I genuinely think all of us have a fair shot. Obviously I’m out of the running, but between the 3, I think all of them are the best there is.
Was there a style of tattoo that you didn’t get to show the judges?
I do mostly Neo Traditional Tattooing. Most of the general public forgets that tattooing, and good tattooing isn’t JUST hyper realistic reproduction of realism. It’s also artistic at its best, and a great tattoo has good technique AND Art. Sadly since it’s a competition and time is limited, I didn’t truly finish anything I did besides the Pin Up and the Armor. In my own studio the other pieces I did that were flawed could have been easily fixed or finished with more time.
What was your favorite challenge this season and why?
WELDING!! Omg I’ve always wanted to weld! Getting to create and work with Ryan Ashley was just the best! She’s one of my best soul friends and I truly admire her talent and creativity!
If you had a second chance to come back into the competition, what would you do differently?
YES! Live and learn right?! I would have managed my time and my canvases better.
What was it like having Oliver Peck as a mentor?
I was STOKED to be on Team Peck. I was raised in a Traditional Apprenticeship where we still made our own needles, machines and ink. I have mad respect for him as a Tattooer and someone who has great integrity in our industry. He was very hands on and just cool as eff.
If clients want to book you for a tattoo, what’s the best way for them to go about doing that?
I actually book out a year, even before the show, so my books are currently closed but I’ll open them up in the spring! Anyone wanting to get on a wait list or info or for conventions/Guest spots can email my booking assistant Jes Rae at [email protected].