For more than five years, Erik Gola has been honing his craft inside the walls of Art Rage Studio. Gola, a resident artist at Art Rage Tattoo, in Scranton, continues to add to his ever-growing, loyal clientele list.
Originally from New Jersey, Gola relocated to Dunmore and began his tenure at Art Rage as a desk receptionist.
“I needed a job truthfully,” Gola said. “Before this, I was drifting around, trying to find my niche. I always had an interest in art, but I never knew how to break into tattooing ‘the right way,’ you know, without being a kitchen scratcher. Art Rage gave me that opportunity.”
One of Gola’s main specialties, however, is his “flash.”
If you take a walk into his work space, you’ll notice the walls surrounding him are completely covered with hundreds of custom drawn designs. They serve as examples for customers – some of the drawings may find a new home on a client’s body.
“I try to keep the flash fresh,” Gola said. “I usually add new pieces to the wall every month ideally.”
“I’d say four out of five clients typically walk in here and just pick something off of the wall,” he said. “I always keep it unique though, every time I do flash I make each piece unique, so no two people ever get the same piece.”
Gola’s taking his show on the road soon – making appearances at the Best in the Midwest Tattoo Convention in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He’ll also be at the Skindustry Convention in Allentown which runs from March 11 through 13.
“I’m here even on my days off,” Gola said. “This is my life. Tattooing is all I do.”
