Janeen Scott
Janeen Scott (She/Her) is a tattoo artist and illustrator residing in Mohkinstsis, Treaty 7 Territory, aka Calgary, Alberta.
As a 2018 graduate with distinction from The Alberta University of the Arts, her education facilitated her to channel her interest in art history, medievalism, folk lore, feminine archetypes and ritual into a contemporary art practice. She focussed on creating large scale figurative self-portraits that drew imagery and symbolism from christian art, witchcraft practices and European folklore. Her work often translates personal narratives around self, love, sex, romance and queerness into folk-lorick and divine visual narratives. Creating tapestries of dark fantasy and iconographic depictions of dream-selves.
Throughout her under-graduate degree she was actively pursuing a career in tattooing, preparing a portfolio heavily influenced by the work she was creating in the studio.
Beginning her apprenticeship shortly after graduating, tattooing quickly became one of the most important parts of her creative life. This entry into the field also put into focus an understanding of how harmful and unsafe the tattoo industry can be. Her experiences eventually lead to the creation of Hemlock Tattoo. Opened in September of 2020 with three other women, Janeen and her colleagues sought to collaboratively create a tattoo studio that prioritizes consent, autonomy, ongoing education and community care/engagement.
Co-owning a creative space that reflects her values and that affords the opportunity to give back to the community while making art every single day are the largest privileges of her career.
When Janeen isn’t in the studio she can be found playing outside, looking at art, bird watching, doting over her black cat, Valentine, and attending live music and drag shows.
(Image description: Pictured is a colour photo of Janeen, a white woman with long wavy black hair. She wears a metal chest plate and gauntlets. She wears a long black skirt on her lower body. She holds a sword with the blade facing upward. In the background is a medieval style arched white door. It is dappled in sunlight.)
Training & Certifications
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Completed in 2019
This course covers education regarding blood borne pathogens, their risks and how transmission occurs. It details exposure controls such as proper personal protective equipment, environmental controls and administrative controls. The course emphasises safe work practices including effective hand hygiene, proper use of gloves and other PPE tools as well as effective disinfectant cleaning, the safe handling of sharps and sharps disposal.
It also covers post exposure managment which includes treatment of exposure sites, reporting, risk factors, testing and counselling.
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Narrated by interdisciplinary artist and oral historian, Tamara Santibañez, “Intro to Trauma-Informed and Justice-Centred Tattooing” is an online workshop that discusses how trauma can exist and present itself within the tattoo practice. It offers education on how to offer safer and more empowering experiences for clients.
It details best practices around communication methods, trust building, general client care and how to navigate scenarios where trauma/PTSD come up with care.
“It situates our practices within a larger political imperative and emphasizes sharing power towards collective agency, elaborating on the liberatory potential of tattooing.” - Tamara Santibañez
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Good Night Out Vancouver is a BC based non-profit focused on sexual violence prevention and education primarily within hospitality and music industries. In 2020, after a very public outcry about abuse occurring within the tattoo industry, they offered training tailored to the tattoo industry.
Their Safer Spaces for All online workshop covers sexual violence statistics in Canada and details the root causes for sexual violence and how this type of violence can manifest within tattooing.
Their training offers actionable methods to make spaces safer for both client AND tattooer.
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Ink the Diaspora is a tattoo artist platform created by Tann Parker to challenge colourism within the industry.
The online panel “It Cuts Deep: Understanding Colourism As A Weapon in Tattooing” discusses the racism rooted within a white-dominated tattoo industry manifesting in artists not knowing how to tattoo on black and brown skin, or outright refusing to. It details the experience of black and brown clients and tattoo artists and challenges outdated and racist notions around tattooing on dark skin.
The accompanying online panel “The Experience of a Black Tattooer” is a discussion amongst several black tattoo artists about their experience in a white-dominated and very often racist/colourist industry. They detail their experiences as clients and their journeys into the industry. They also discuss changes they want to see in the industry, what white tattooers need to do to engage in real allyship and and the rewarding nature of their personal practices within the contexts of black empowerment and representation.
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Created and taught by New York City based tattoo artist, Sophie C’est la Vie, Tinted is a downloadable video workshop to be used as an educational tool for tattooers to learn how to more effectively create colour tattoos on melanated skin.
C’est la Vie goes into great detail about colour theory, application, line wight, contrast and more.
This workshop also challenges existing barriers by dispelling outdated, biased, and racist thought processes relating to skin tone within the tattoo industry.
Land Acknowledgment
I would like to acknowledge my location and role to play within the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes: The Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations), the Tsuut’ina First Nation, the Stoney Nakoda (including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations), and the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III. I want to express our deep gratitude for the people of these nations for caring for the land and all the sacrifices they have endured in doing so.
I acknowledge my privileged position to be operating on this extremely abundant land and to recognize that ALL people residing here are Treaty 7 people. In the spirit of acknowledging this history I want to conduct myself in a way that honours the Seven Teachings of the Blackfoot, Cree, and Ojibwe people. These teachings are comprised of courage, honesty, humility, love, respect, truth and wisdom and they perfectly encompass how the co-owners of Hemlock Tattoo and myself wish to operate and share space in Treaty 7.
As a tattoo artist specifically, I want to aknowledge the indigenous origins and history of tattooing in North America as well as in a wider global context. Our modern western understanding of tattooing barely passes a glance at the deep, symbolic and sacred roots tattooing has in indigenous cultures. The Hemlock Tattoo team and I commit to participating in the dissemination of information/education about indigenous tattoo practices and supporting those who are working to revive and protect the ancestral tattoo practices that colonialism has tried to erase.
Thank you to Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes for her warmth, wisdom and guidance and to all future educators and experts for sharing their knowledge with us. The Hemlock Tattoo team and I want to commit ourselves to ongoing allyship by amplifying voices, supporting indigenous artists and indigenous lead organizations, advocating for de-colonial practices and Land Back initiatives, seeking out on-going education, and using our privilege and platform to share education, calls to action and resources.
-Hemlock Tattoo Team