- [Announcer] This is a production of WEDU PBS, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota.

- [Dalia] Funding for WEDU Arts Plus is provided by the Community Foundation, Tampa Bay.

In this edition of WEDU Arts Plus, a local tattoo artist shares his process.

- What makes my art special, I guess, is the fact of my style.

I've always just been into bright, bold design.

- [Dalia] The value of music therapy.

- [William] When they first get there, they're kind of in survival mode.

But the idea of being held by a community is communicated very effectively and they feel that.

- [Dalia] Craftsmanship in fashion design.

- My passion is neckties.

I make them unique because each one is individually created.

- [Dalia] And the art of roller skating.

- So many words of the world is gone once you hit that floor.

This is just me, my eights, and a wood floor.

- It's all coming up next on WEDU Arts Plus.

(gentle music) Hello, I'm Dalia Colon, and this is WEDU Arts Plus.

This first segment was produced by students at St. Petersburg College in partnership with WEDU.

J. Michael Taylor is the owner of Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery in St. Petersburg.

Learn about his work and mastery of the art form that uses the human skin as a canvas.

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm J. Michael Taylor.

I'm an artist and owner at Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery in St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida.

What makes my art special, I guess, is the fact of my style.

I've always just been into bright, bold design.

(upbeat music) Something that you can walk into a room and see from across the room.

Not that you have to look at it, and you're like, "I can't tell what that is," and have to really walk up and look into it.

There are some tattooers who do tattoos like that well.

I just prefer the bold style of, "Wow!

Look at that tattoo from all the way across the room."

- My name is Jeremy Hulett.

I work for J. Michael here at Black Amethyst in St. Pete, co-own the Clearwater shop and also own a shop in Georgia.

(upbeat music) J. Michael's work, especially with tattoos, I think his clients really appreciate the thought and art that he puts into it.

He has a very strong illustrative background that flows beautifully on the arms, legs, or whatever body parts he gets ahold of.

- Before tattooing, I had a couple of different jobs in the art field.

Then I moved into boss display, which is children's museum exhibits and trade show displays.

After starting that job, 9/11 hit.

I lost my position because I was the youngest individual at the company.

Then it was the mad scramble to find another job which then led me to tattooing.

So as much as that was a hard struggle, I think it was meant to be.

(dramatic music) - Hi, my name is Noah Chase, and I've been going to J. Michael for about three years now.

After getting work done by J. Michael, I can easily tell a difference between the quality of his tattoos compared to my other ones from different artists.

And for that reason alone, because of how high quality it is compared to my other ones, I will never not go to him over anyone else.

A lot of the time when I go out, a lot of people will come up to me and compliment the tattoo that J. Michael has given me.

And compared to the other ones that I've had, I don't get that recognition.

So it's nice to have a good tattoo on my body.

(upbeat music) - When I start designing a brand new tattoo, the first thing we do is have a consult with our clients.

I want to get an idea of what they're looking for and kind of the style and feel they're looking to portray on their skin.

From there, I usually do research, look up different art, different artists, different images online to help me kind of hone into what my clients are looking for.

After that, basically, it's just doing a drawing, maybe a color study to try to get the concept together.

Then from there, from paper to skin.

(upbeat rock music) (tool buzzing) (upbeat rock music) What I want my clients to take away from getting tattooed from me is the experience of getting tattooed, and also for them to be excited and proud to be wearing the artwork that I have placed on them.

I usually get pretty close with my clients just because I spend a lot of time with them.

So it's always great to finish up a piece and have a new friend.

(upbeat music) (gentle music) - See more at stpetetattoo.org.

Up next, sitting on a music therapy session in Dayton, Ohio.

Find out how this universal language helps heal the human mind and spirit.

- Eight to 10 years ago, the mix of alcoholism versus some form of drug addiction was almost half and half.

The alcoholism factor has dwindled to almost 5%, and nearly everyone else is involved in heroin.

There seems to be a highway that runs through Cincinnati and Dayton where a lot of this stuff shows up and it's very cheap and easy to get hold of.

The movement from recreational drug use to addiction seems to be more people coming off of opiates for some kind of pain management that has led to their addiction.

Music therapy provides, in that context, a different way of approaching individual's awareness of of their issues and of their current coping skills and how those might change, how they might use creative arts or more creative outlets as a means of getting in touch with themselves, their emotions so that they can move forward.

Music therapy training includes a lot of training in psychology, as well as how music affects human beings or how music helps human beings get in touch with their emotional lives.

- Sometimes I sit in the music therapy sessions and participate in them.

And I get to listen to the dialogue that's going on.

And what is said really does translate into their individual counseling.

Sometimes it translates into group, in terms of themes that we cover.

When they first get there, they're kind of in survival mode.

But the idea of being held by a community is communicated very effectively, and they feel that.

- Music therapy provides an avenue for them to use their creativity and use their inner resources towards emotional expression and learning how to handle them, which part of addiction is hiding or burying emotions that are difficult or challenging.

- Counseling, it's all in the head.

Music gives us chance to express our feelings differently and connect with other people around our feelings differently.

- [Jim] In music therapy, we think of four primary methods.

So one is to use song material and to sing.

Another way is to use improvisation.

We also use composition.

And so, in groups, we might compose songs together or we might take a song that everyone knows and tear it apart and recompose the lyrics to that.

So that it says what they want it to say.

- I was actively addicted from the age of 14 till about 39.

I'm probably in the first generation of people to not have like a generic alcoholism.

It was polysubstance, mostly opiates and alcohol.

People are more adept at processing their feelings than milieus in the past have been.

And I attribute that to the music therapy because it gives them another channel to work with their feelings.

They work better together.

(chime clanging) Because for that hour, what they're doing is they're kind of linking up and they're becoming a community at a different level.

And so, once that part is over, it resonates out through the rest of the week and their daily life together.

- We are so readily exposed to song material.

Everywhere we go as Americans, we are bombarded with music.

Depending on where they use, there's typically some kind of music happening that can very easily be triggering for craving feelings.

So as we listen then, we talk about the energies that that song brings.

It's not just about the lyrics.

It's about the energy of the music that supports the lyrics that might be triggering or that they might find really soothing.

So we talk about those process, how to focus on engaging with music that's healthier for me than the music that triggers my craving feelings.

Anytime we are involved in a creative process or with a creative medium, you're getting in touch with the aesthetic.

And I think all human beings need that.

When I am in an addictive process, my focus is so on self and getting my fix, getting that addiction need filled.

I lose track of everything around me and those around me, and those relationships are all, have aesthetic properties.

My relationship to the world, my relationship to you, to my family, to lose touch with the aesthetic, to the beautiful aspects of life is serious stuff.

So to reclaim that through a creative medium like music or art therapy, really, I think, enhances any kind of treatment process.

(gentle music) - [Dalia] To learn more about the power of music therapy, visit musictherapy.org.

Pasquale Iovinella makes high quality handmade ties.

From fabric selection to pattern development to the construction, he's involved in every step of the process and puts his stamp on all of his creations.

(lively music) - My name is Pasquale Iovinella and I hand-make neckties.

I came from a small town in Italy called Orta di Atella.

It's about 10 miles from Naples.

Since I was young, I always had an interest in fashion, in particular in neckties.

My mom was a traditional seamstress, so she taught me about the sewing with the sewing machine, and threading and fabric.

And I learned a lot from her.

When I decided to do this for job, I went to school in Rome.

About five, six years ago, I start to make neckties.

My ties are special because there are producing limited quantity.

(gentle bouncy music) I make one, two, maybe three of each and pay attention on every small details.

My neckties are made with fabric from Como, Italy, which is the best silk in the world.

So I only use silk, 100% silk.

Every one year, two year, I go back to Italy and select the fabric.

Once I choose the fabric, I cut the fabric in three pieces at a 45 degree angle.

This create more elastic and stable.

So the neckties doesn't lose its shape.

The most important step is to make tips.

They must be perfect.

Then I join all three pieces.

(bouncy music) The next step is to put the lining in and closes all the necktie with the lining.

Next step, your keeper's loop.

Put my Italian flag.

The necktie is complete when I control it that there is no mistakes.

That means that the necktie is ready to wear.

I'm happy when I finish my neckties because it's my creativity, it's my design.

In Italy, many people wear a tie every day.

That's a cultural, you know.

Oscar Wilde said, "A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life."

My passion is neckties, satisfying.

I love it.

(gentle music) - See more of his designs at pasqualeiovinella.com.

In Columbus, Ohio, there's a vibrant roller skating culture that is alive and well.

Members of the community gather together at the rink, hit the floor, and move to the music.

(quirky music) - We're at Skate Zone 71.

It's a Sunday night.

This right here is the epitome of Columbus skating right here.

I mean, if you haven't been before, it's an experience.

- You know, people from all different cultures come out and skate, different skill levels.

So the later you get into the session, the more you'll see.

- I just happened to come with a friend one night, I was invited.

So I came and I was like, "Wow, this is different from what I normally see."

And I was just so excited and I've been here ever since.

- You know, if you're not in this atmosphere, it's really kind of foreign to some people because they don't understand that it's not just a movie.

It's not just something they did in the '70s.

It's very well still alive.

You know, people still come skating.

We still travel to skate and we have fun.

- Growing up, like when I was a kid, it was fun.

And it was a way to stay outta trouble.

But what really drew me to it is the thing that I can just relieve so much stress.

So many worries of the world is gone once you hit that floor.

I don't take my phone on me.

I don't take my wallet on me, nothing.

For three to four hours, I am free with no worries of the world.

This is just me, my eights, and a wood floor.

- I've been skating for 58 years.

I skate at least twice a week, sometimes three times a week.

- I skate pretty much every Sunday, every Thursday, every Tuesday, pretty much my life has been skating ever since I was nine years old.

- Oh, it started when I was four years old.

My father was a skater.

I've been doing it ever since.

My first job I ever had, first paycheck I ever had, I bought a pair of roller skates.

My dad taught me how to skate but I come from a long line of skaters.

My grandfather and grandmother were floor guards for the local skating rink back in the '30s and '40s.

So my dad passed on the skill of skating to me, my brother, and my sister.

My whole family, they all skate, my aunt, my cousin, so it's a generational thing.

It's in my blood.

(upbeat music) - I'm old school.

I like vintage-type gear.

So my boot is from 1973.

I have a plate that I customly ordered online.

My wheels are vintage wheels.

I have about seven sets of wheels.

Most of them are from the '70s and '80s.

- So the weird thing about my skates is this is my first pair.

This is my second pair.

And I merged them together.

And basically, Frankenstein.

These I have on, these are Stacy's with Fomac wheels.

They're real slippery.

They're like Cali style.

Cali style, they have skating in a lot of Stacy's.

It's like you're on water.

Like you're really sliding across the floor the whole night.

(upbeat rap music) - I started skating when I was probably about elementary school but never took it as serious as I did now.

I got three children now.

So I'm a full-time dad.

So I used to skate right about four times a week.

Now it's probably about once a month.

So you caught me on my one good time for the month.

So a lot of people, they still don't know that this happened, that we do this at night.

- It's just a stress-reliever.

You just get on the floor and your soul goes to a whole nother place.

The music, you know, we all just come together and have a great time.

(upbeat music) Skateology is our group.

It's about 10 members, and we host an annual party called Icy Hot.

Icy Hot is always like Super Bowl weekend, skaters from all across the country.

There's like 800 to 1,000 people skating.

(upbeat music) - [Bryant] It's just like one big family.

It's love, it's love.

That's the skate community.

We want more skaters.

We need new skaters.

So the more skaters come out, the more energy, the bigger the family.

- There's a lot of history here.

A lot of people have been skating for years, young and old, and it's still alive.

Skating is still alive.

(gentle music) - Find a skate scene in your area at unitedskates.com.

And that wraps it up for this edition of WEDU Arts Plus.

For more arts and culture, visit wedu.org/artsplus.

Until next time, I'm Dalia Colon.

Thanks for watching.

(dramatic music) Funding for WEDU Arts Plus is provided by the Community Foundation, Tampa Bay.

(bright music)