A review of the Inkmaster Screening Party at Spin Ultra Lounge in Boca Raton Tuesday night and an introduction of Lea Vendetta.
Tuesday night, tattoo artist/painter Lea Vendetta was at a chic lounge in Boca Raton, yet a good chunk of people all over America fell in love with her -- that's the power of television.
A spiky-haired patron said that on a
typical night, the place is full of "stuffy cougars" -- understandable. Ambiance is key, and Spin Ultra Lounge is a very seductive place.
But since Vendetta had invited friends and the public to join
her to watch the season premier of Spike's Inkmaster -- a show akin to Top Chef or Project Runway but for tattoo artists -- it
was full of guys with sleeves of tattoos mingling in wife beaters. That guy
in an ironed shirt, jeans, and brown Moccasins would not normally stand out --
until you noticed his humongous earring gauges. Whenever Vendetta appeared on the numerous
screens spread throughout the lounge, cheering erupted.
One out of ten people chosen to contend, Vendetta is competing to win 100 grand and the title of being the Ultimate Inkmaster. As you'll see on the show -- which airs at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays -- Vendetta is absolutely striking and absolutely
talented. At Spin, upon being asked how much did she think her looks helped her
get on the show, she replied: "Well, I think a lot."
Of course, she already knows the results of the show, but no one else at Spin did. A
male tattooer sporting a jersey and who wore a big bun on top of his
head said, "She has not been able to tell us anything." Then
when Dave Navarro came on the screen, the man scoffed and said: "Dave
Navarro telling world-class tattoo artists what to do?! He's not a tattoo artist."
Vendetta won us over before the premiere when she told County Grind what tattooing meant to her: "It is probably one of the best feelings when my clients not only love the work I create for them but, on the top of that, it fixes issues that were hard for them to carry in life. A lot of people do not think about that, but tattooing is a great way to cover scars, skin pigmentation problems, even small little skin problems, like spider veins.
"This girl in particular" -- [pictured below] -- "had her life changed from
that tattoo. She was a cutter as a teen, and when she came to me, she
was just miserable and was hiding herself under tons of long-sleeved
clothing. And now it did wonders to her self-esteem, and her friends tell
me she wears tank tops all the time! Tattooing is so powerful. It just
has to be used the right way."
Vendetta has lived in South Florida for 16 years and works at a Stroke of Genius Tattoos.
New Times on Facebook | County Grind on Facebook | Twitter | e-mail us |
