Making an indelible mark on Chattanooga
Everywhere I go in Chattanooga, I seem to run into Jennifer Edge. She’s all over the place. On people’s arms, hands, thighs, backs, on their calves and ribs. Her far-reaching influence on others’ lives leaves an indelible brush stroke on the skin of anyone that has spent time in her chair.
Her work is monotonously unique. Her style flutters and flows like your favorite guitarist. You know who it is with the first note of every new tune with no need for anyone to tell you. Her work is undeniable yet always custom, fresh, and full of love.
Jennifer has become a powerhouse in Chattanooga’s budding art and cultural world. The tattoo artist is much more than just that. She radiates creativity and forward-thinking with every action. None of it was a mistake. She has taken life in her grip and is squeezing it for every drop.
Jennifer is coming up on celebrating ten years since she became a tattooer. In her previous life, she spent her time in retail management.
“I was never really happy doing anything other than art, but I didn’t have the opportunity to pursue it until I got my apprenticeship. The artistic drive has always been there, trying to get out,” says the artist as she reminisces about her journey.
Literary Ink, Jennifer’s artistic incubator, had a massively successful tattoo convention last March. More than a room of tattoo artists, the concept and philosophy of the idea acts as a massive visual-art think tank.
“People can come and see all of these folks that they’ve seen on tv or that they’ve always wanted to get tattooed by and enjoy a moment of being catered to. It’s refreshing to see some positivity in an often dark and troubling world,” says Jennifer.
The convention will return to Chattanooga next February 1-3 and the experience promises to be one for the books. The concept is a constantly adaptive program with deeper ambitions of social responsibility and community involvement.
“If you work in a job that allows you to talk to people, you should engage. You should engage in your community. We try to do events that bring the community together. We are living in a time with a lot of pain and chaos. Nobody takes the time to connect with their neighbor. We need to flip the script and find ways to engage with people.”
Jennifer’s excitement about her work sits proudly on her sleeve, a token of her masterful brush stroke.
“My compass has shifted. My mentor told me that this is not a job, it’s a lifestyle. I’m still working on navigating those words.”
But after speaking to her, it’s obvious that she has taken the meaningful advice to heart. When she isn’t tattooing she’s finger-painting or water coloring or traveling to educational tattoo seminars or visiting museums and galleries.
To say that she takes her work home is unfair. She takes her life everywhere she goes. The lines are blurred and ambiguous.
“Artists are visionaries that move people. We know these names because they left marks on the world that are still there today. They show the world a different way. I want to do that. I want to do as much as I can for my community.”
Edge has an innate and unflinching desire to help other people find their passion and their drive. On her 34th birthday, she had a sudden and stark realization that she hadn’t done the things in her life that she wanted to do. She woke up and started controlling her own life. Two years later, she opened Main Line Ink with her artistic partner and fellow tattooer Danny Siviter.
“My dreams are happening now. I’m not sitting by and waiting for them anymore.”
Now Jennifer wants to share that gift and realization with others.
“Anyone can have their turning page. Get up and move forward. If there’s something in your way, go around it, go over it, or move it. Anyone can make their dreams come true. But you have to work harder than you ever have. If you’re unhappy, make a change.”
Now Main Line Ink is closing in on a five-year anniversary and is raging forward full force like an unstoppable locomotive.
Jennifer is full of motivational mantras that empower her art and her artistic philosophy, but the most important bit of advice that she ever received came from her wife’s 101-year-old grandmother. It’s simple and stoic and humble and has driven her whole career.
“Be nice.”