Meet Natia

How about some lovely tattoos to chase away those weekday blues? Natia Olson AKA @swamplost is the spooky doodler of your darkest dreams. Their incredible eyes for detail and linework make for fantastic works that fall right in line with this Halloween season. Check out some of their lovely pieces, and get to know the artist a little better in our latest interview!

A self-portrait by Natia

Would You Rather

Whose face would you rather have on the back of your head Shia Lebouf or Martha Stewart?

If I had to Edward Mordrake style have one of them on the back of my head of course I would pick Martha. SHE'S FRIENDS WITH SNOOP DOGG. I'd share a head with that lady to be friends with Snoop Dogg.

Some Questions with Natia

Do you have a favorite horror movie? Why?

That’s a hard one to answer since horror is a pretty blanket term for lots of sub-genres of movies with dark themes. I'm honestly not a big of a fan of the jump-scare horror or extreme gore movies. Of course, I like the go to's like "Army of Darkness" as much as the next guy, but for the sake of what I find influential on myself and my work I lean more towards classics like Todd Browning's "Freaks" or Paul Leni's "The Man Who Laughs". I'm also a giant fan of the stop motion films by Jan Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay.

What are your favorite galleries/museums in New York and why?

Funny enough I haven't been to ANY galleries or museums in NYC yet. I travel so often I spend most of my time either working or decompressing. The most recent museum that I've been to was the Graveface museum down in Savannah, GA, and if you're ever in the south it's worth a visit if you're into gaf taxidermy, serial killers, the occult, or the circus. The owner Ryan is full of really interesting random facts about everything in there, plus he's got his dead great grandfather on display. I'm also a big fan of the Mutter Museum in Philly and the Museum of Death in LA and New Orleans.

What do you do when you've hit a creative slump?

When I get in a creative slump I just work through it. My job doesn't allow me to take breaks. I feel like I live in a constant state of slump with random days of inspiration, but it's not something I let get to my head. I create every day at work, when I actually have energy to continue when I get home its just a bonus. I just try to keep a constant influx of inspiration around me by being an antique book hoarder.

What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Find somebody's work you like and don't be afraid to be influenced by it. Don't copy it, but don't be afraid to use inspiration as a stepping stone. I went to this thing called "conversations with Nick Cave" and people kept asking him where he came up with certain songs and he told them he would steal a line from a book or poem he liked and write around it. By the end of it he could take the line it was all based on out. I realized that's what I do with tattooing, I take an old image from some dusty book I found at an antique store and work around it until it's warped into something of my own.

Who was your most influential family member growing up?  

Oof, that's a loaded one to answer. My most influential family member was definitely my Uncle, he opened the to door to all the music I still listen to to this day and introduced me to me reading vintage fantasy sci-fi that consumed me when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I've lost contact with him and what I've heard is that he kinda turned into a giant piece of shit. So yeah, I looked up to a piece of shit my whole childhood. Fuck that dude.

What other forms of media do you think most influence your work?

Old books, silent movies, whatever is falling apart at the antique store I find myself in that day. Clowns. I really like clowns.

Can you remember the first tattoo you ever gave someone else? How did it go?

The first tattoo I did was an outline of a dagger on my ex-husband's thigh. It wasn't too bad until I went back in a few weeks later to try and shade it and just totally destroyed it. Linework came to me much quicker than shading. Probably because of my pre-tattoo drawing style being only pen and lots of lines.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Snoop Dogg seems hella chill.

Natia Olson