London based artist, Artie “Arturo” Ostrowski, has been devoting his artistic abilities to the arts since an early age. His ultimate goal is to achieve a Doctorate degree in Fine Arts and continue in academia as a Professor of Art. Arturo’s primary training started when he was a young child by his mother, who was a graphic designer and painter. An Introduction to a full-time career in the arts presented itself during his undergraduate studies of fine art at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. In his final year of his Honors Bachelor of Arts degree (2006), Artie was given an internship opportunity at one of the well-established and well-known tattoo studios in the city, Underground Ink. After he concluded his internship, Arturo was offered a tattoo apprenticeship under two of Thunder Bay’s most skilled artists, Chad and Fenton Gilbert (brothers).
During his apprenticeship, Artie continued on with his studies at Lakehead to complete a Bachelor of Education degree with a specialization to teach Art and Philosophy at the intermediate/senior levels. After completing his B.Ed. degree and his tattoo apprenticeship in 2008, Artie and Chad moved on from Underground Ink to open their own tattoo studio where they worked together for several years. In 2010 Arturo decided to move out to western Canada to Kelowna, BC. There, he focused on building his art portfolio with the intention of furthering his education in fine art.
In 2011, Artie was accepted at the University of Calgary to pursue a Master in Fine Art (MFA) degree. Although he was accepted into the program as a painter, Arturo did not paint a single painting during his MFA candidacy. Instead, he changed his discipline to sculpture and installation art under the supervision of Jean-René Leblanc, PhD. Changing his disciplinary focus to sculpture turned out to be a very promising decision for many reasons. It allowed him to find a new way to express himself and his ideas. As well, it gave him a fresh and new perspective into art creation, and also the ability to learn and discover new technological and industrial processes which he then later incorporated into his art production. Arturo was extremely devoted to art making and his studies during his MFA candidacy and was awarded the highest amount of funding through scholarships and bursaries for his efforts. Artie was granted the Alberta Graduate Student Scholarship, Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship, Alberta Foundation for the Arts Graduate Scholarship, Calgary Chamber of Commerce & ENMAX Graduate Scholarship in Global Climate Change Research as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship for a second time. During his studies, Artie was given the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant with professor Eric Cameron in drawing and Gerald Hushlak in painting. As well, he helped students with their art projects in the wood and metal shop working as a Workshop Technician Assistant. While completing his MFA degree, Artie continued his practice as a tattoo artist and continuously made trips back to Thunder Bay to work out of his friend Matt Bressmer’s piercing and tattoo shop, CREATION. He graduated from the MFA program in September 2013 and moved back to Ontario to raise his son who was born in the summer of that same year.
With a new degree and newborn, Artie relocated to London, Ontario to be closer to family, and also because he was considering attending the PhD. Program in Fine Art at the University of Western to continue his art training. He decided to take a break from studies to raise his new family, and took his time to build his home tattoo studio from the ground up. In 2015, he opened his private home tattoo studio, ARTURO ART STUDIO, where he worked out of for many years. In 2022, Artie decided to move his studio out of his home and opened Mystic Rabbit located at 502 Adelaide Street North. Over the past year, Arturo has been renovating his studio independently to create a calm and inviting space for clients to enjoy while they are tattooed. The new studio is an extension of Artie’s personality and has a Canadian West Coast Island and Boho vibe. Mystic Rabbit’s walls are adorned by artwork from many First Nations artists as well as coastal décor including surfboards, shells and driftwood. London has been very welcoming since arriving here in 2013, and Artie is very grateful for all his wonderful clients as well as the opportunity to meet many very talented artists from the area.
So, what’s next?
Artie is very excited for what’s to come in the near future. He will continue to tattoo at his private studio Mystic Rabbit, but he is also very eager to dive back into his passion to create sculpture and installation art. Artie has been in the process of building a new 1300 ft2 art studio himself at his home for the past few years, which he hopes to complete 2024. Lacking a space to make art has temporarily separated Arturo from creating new artwork. Artie has decided to dedicate some of his floorspace at Mystic Rabbit as a temporary art space rather than hiring tattoo artists to work for him. Artie is also looking into volunteering to create an art program with the N’amerind Friendship Centre here in London to promote art making for the local Aboriginal community. As well, he is hoping to develop a non-profit art therapy program and open the doors of his art studio to troubled youth, with the intention of helping the local community and inspiring future generations of artists.
