Ink Master: Angels interview: Gia Rose on judging new competition show

Gia Rose is an artist that was easy to root for on Ink Master season 8. She was a fun, smart and a great tattooer with a lot of cool tricks up her sleeve, so we were happy to hear that she was going to be joining Ink Master: Angels with Ashley Ryan Malarkey, Nikki Simpson and Kelly Doty. These four women forged the first all female alliance on Ink Master, but not only that, they also created a life long friendship that has spawned a spin-off series that will take them across the country looking for more great tattoo artists.

If you look below, Gia discusses everything from being on on the show, what she learned about herself through this process, and also what she was looking for as a judge.

CarterMatt: When you first heard about Ink Master Angels, what made you want to be a part of the show?

They approached us about it and it was really organic, since the four of us are really good friends from Ink Master. Originally the concept was pretty loose, but they wanted to do something that was lighthearted as well as challenging. It was really interesting for us to have this travel adventure show that also involved tattooing, and going into new cities to find artists and help them along their journeys to Ink Master. It was just a really cool idea.

What impressed you the most from visiting so many different tattoo shops across the country?

I think honestly being on the other side of a competition and being able to talk about tattoos with other tattooers. What impressed me on top of that was the dedication all of these artists brought into tattooing no matter their skill set. It’s pretty cool to see.

What are some of the qualities you’re looking at for competing artists?

What we’re looking for with any good artist is the ability to adapt to any situation, to hit the marks we’re looking for within each challenge, but also to bring something new to the table. I know that for me I was definitely interested in finding someone who had a lot of creativity.

What was it like becoming a judge after being judged yourself on Ink Master?

You want to try and put aside your own biases and your own tastes because you have to be objective. You have to really stick to what the challenges are as well as the qualifications of what makes a great tattoo. There’s an objectivity there, but then you bring in creativity and art and there’s some subjectivity there. I might find something more tasteful than [another tattoo]. That’s what makes it so great to have the other girls, since the four of us really debate everything out.

I’m really excited to see how some of those discussions go!

Sometimes we would disagree on things that I would be surprised about. I would expect maybe Kelly to go one way and then she would say something that would surprise me; or, I would say something that would surprise them. That’s why it’s really interesting. Judging was really difficult in every aspect of it.

How did you find the experience of working alongside the other women from your season? Did this make your friendship stronger?

I think that these kinds of things always bring challenges when you’re working very closely with people, regardless of if you’re friends or not. If you are friends I think that it makes it easier to work through things together. All of the girls have been tattooing at such a high level that we felt good about the way we communicated and how we went through each challenge together.

What are you hoping the viewers of Ink Master Angels take away from the show?

That tattooing is really hard (laughs), and that even the best artists struggle sometimes. It’s hard to do! It takes a lifetime to master in a lot of ways. Sometimes the simplest thing can be the most challenging. There’s a lot of tattooing this season.

Is there anything that you took away from doing this show that you’re going to use as an artist going forward?

I think just to not take myself so seriously. I’ve been tattooing for such a long time now and going through all of this was such a rewarding experience. I feel like it’s made me a better artist and a more rounded tattooer. When I’m home it makes me more appreciative of what I do on a daily basis.

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A big thank you to Gia for talking to us here at CarterMatt about her time on Ink Master: Angels! Don’t forget that the show is premiering on October 3 at 10:00 pm on Spike, so make sure you tune in to see what the angels have in store for us!

If you are looking for more scoop on Ink Master Angels then head on over to the link here where you can check out our coverage and read our other interviews with Ryan Ashley Malarkey, Nikki Simpson and Kelly Doty.

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