Maud set up shop at Les Chaussettes Tattoo Club in Nancy, France, just over a year ago. Her work presents two distinct facets : one in which video games and animated movies inspire an ultra vibrant world where food is ever-present, and the other leaning more towards blackwork mixing a drawn world of filigree plants with solid black spaces...
Can you tell us about yourself in a few words?
I’m Maude Miel, I’m 31, Paris-born and I’ve been tattooing since 2016. I like tattooing cute, funny stuff and big blackouts. I love my cats, food, and my yellow oilskin coat. I’m a fan of video games, animated movies and animation in general.
How did you get into tattooing ?
I did a Master’s degree in Theatre Studies, and on graduating got a job in theatre lighting. So I got into tattooing somewhat through chance, I already had a few tattoos myself, I loved tattoos… then one day I met someone who handed me a dermagraph and offered to help me learn how to use it : I said no at first because I didn’t know how to draw, I didn’t know the basics. That same person advised me to learn to draw as I was so passionate about tattooing. I started drawing a lot and fell in love with it. I taught myself, taking advice from friends, over the course of a year. Then I started looking for an apprenticeship, taking my book along to conventions, I asked for guidance, showed my work...that wasn’t what I had planned, professionally speaking, but it caught me out, tattooing quickly became an integral part of my life. At first I felt like an imposter, because I found my apprenticeship quickly even though I’d only just started to learn to draw...and I still am...
Can you tell us about your own tattoos ?
I’ve been getting inked for about 10 years now. My first tattoo was a whole back piece, going from my right shoulder to my left buttock done by Klaim at Street Tattoo. I’m a collector and influenced by emotions so when I like an artist’s work, I’m capable of traveling and getting the moment inked / anchored onto my skin. One of my legs is dedicated to friends and apprentices...although there isn’t much space left now...recurring themes are red pandas, penguins and bees ! (Ed : Maude has been inked by Oash, Jubs, Lehel Perspektiv, Matik, Cody Eich, Wonka, Jamieris, Uncl Paul, Minh Kaiju…to name just a few!)
On Instagram you have two very different accounts / profiles (@maudemiel et @miel_blk), why this choice ?
I created two accounts to clearly seperate the two facets of my work, some tattooists specialize in one style, but I just can’t do that ! I really want to do two completely different things and not have to give one up for the other. When I started out you had to know how to do everything, be versatile, and I want to hold on to that: the purpose being to have several strings to my bow and not be restricted to one style. I want to carry on exploring, that’s also why I have two Instagram acounts. I really like drawing funny, super cute and intensely colorful stuff but with a dark side : especially on my flashes : my little dinos get crushed by comets, my veggies are eating each other…. I like that contrast, at least on the ‘Maude Miel’ side of things. Parallel to that, when I started tattooing, I only did lines and black fill-ins, sometimes even a bit of negative space work. I never really managed to move away from that. At the beginning it was on small pieces, then I started doing really large ones with a lot of black and negative space: I like to create things through the fact that it isn’t drawn. You don’t see the black, but the drawings are only visible through the omnipresence of black… and I really love emphasizing the curves of the body...That’s the Miel Blk side of things (Ed : blk = black), even though I use too much color to be considered a true Black Worker.
So, where do you find inspiration for these two aspects of your work then ?
For the Maude Miel aspect, I’m inspired by food, I love tattooing food and mixing that with pop culture influences or animals... Animation and cartoons like Adventure Time or Gravity Falls, the animated films by Miyazaki where the food is always superb and makes you want to eat as soon as the film is over ...That’s also what I aim for with my tattoos : that they look ‘ready to eat’… On the Blk side of things, there’s more plant life, although Art Nouveau, Art Deco and architecture also constitute the basis of my work...Nancy is a really inspiring city for that. Then I have to take up space and be in harmony with the part of the body that the client entrusts to me, their curves and morphology, because it’s often a whole limb, really big pieces...I have to generate movement with negative space. On the Blk side, the project is built entirely in partnership with the client.
Which tattoo artists influence you ?
Tattooists who inspire me are Andrey Biserov (Moscow), Yann Black (Montreal), Steve Moore (Vancouver), Jamie Ris and Herman Gorbunov (Saint Petersburg), Petja Evlegovia, Oash, Amayra, Gakkin… There are SO MANY tattooists whose work I admire...and as I’m striving to be truly versatile, that’s a real source of inspiration ! At the moment, for example, I’m preparing blends of cartoons and neo-trad, all these artists inspire me to create ! Maybe one of my life goals would be to work on projects as amazing as the ones by Steve Moore or Gakkin... Beautifying whole bodies with tattoos is really something I want to accomplish. Different artists make me aspire to improve myself, create more...they are skilled in their work, and talented in art and design which I’m admirative of, really.
Are you working on any collabs at the moment ? Or are there any collabs that you’d like to do ?
Yes I have several, which I’m delighted about ! I do tattoo collabs but also painting ones with Petit Fantome tattoo, a colleague, and with another colleague Zuk, but also drawing ones with Miamisshake and a new one coming up with Minhkaiju. I love the idea of blending styles and especially having clients who are happy for us to work on them ! It’s so enriching to work with other artists whose work I admire, it drives me to improve and discuss techniques. It creates unique moments with the client, which is something I really enjoy. Collabs I’d like to do would be with Tompouce Tattoo as well as Kyriakaiju ( just in case they’ree reading this ;-)), Uncl Paul Knows or Jérôme Crazycaps...As I see it, for a collab to succeed, you need to really know each other, like each other and be able to kick ideas around together. The ideal is a client who suggests a collab like sending out a smoke signal and when both tattoo artists are up for it !
You’ve set up shop in Nancy, but are you more ‘sedentary’ or ‘nomad’ for your work ? Do you guest or participate in conventions ?
I was really nomadic for a while : early on in my career I guested one or two weeks per month, it was pretty intense, but that was before Covid hit, which put the brakes on everything...I’ve also done a lot of conventions, if only to keep learning and meeting people. Nowadays I’m more selective, I usually choose to go to friends’ places, I’m more reticent about going to shops where I don’t know anyone, I like to have at least met them at a convention...Actually I still go to conventions : Tattoo Fest in Poland, Milan and I loved the Toronto one although one of my favourites is still the one in Nantes, France ! So I’m basically a nomad, yes !
Where do you see yourself in 10 years ?
I’d like to be celebrating the 11th anniversary of the Chaussettes Tattoo club shop and to finally have my own Tiny House ! I hope to keep this desire for improvement and still be fascinated and enthralled with tattooing, I never want to lose those feelings. Instagram @maudemiel, @miel_blk
