About
Erin has been tattooing for 8.5 years, and believes that tattooing is a lifelong journey and learning process. She’s always looking to improve and broaden her skills, and although she has primary styles she focuses on, she is open to trying new things when creativity strikes.
Ever since taking private art lessons at the age of 8, she has had a passion for the arts. She has experience in many different mediums and art forms, including: ink, oil paint, charcoal, chalk pastel, graphite, colored pencil, acrylic paint, watercolor, graphic design, architectural design, computer animation, stop-motion animation, screenwriting, sculpture, print-making, and photography.
Erin grew up in East Greenbush, NY and then moved to Ithaca, NY for college. She then moved to Newport, KY, in 2020, to be close to her brother.
QUALIFICATIONS
Owner of My Friends & I Tattoo - Erin worked with the City of Newport from January - March 2024 in order to legalize tattoo shops. She became the first tattoo shop in the city! After 2 years of running the shop, she decided to close it down in June 2026, in order to focus on her travels.
Tattoo Conventions - Erin won 5th place in Tattoo of the Day “Black & Grey” for a tattoo that she did on her brother, Mike Blaney, of a Korean tiger climbing rocks, to represent his love of climbing.
Mentoring - Erin mentored two artists, Erica Jackels (her wife) and Sadie Kern.
Apprenticeship - She completed her tattoo apprenticeship at Model Citizen Tattoo, located in Ithaca, New York, under her mentor James Spiers.
Schooling - Erin graduated from Ithaca College in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in both Art and Environmental Studies. She also had a concentration in Architecture.
INTERESTS
Travel / Hiking — Erin has been to over 17 different countries, and loves being immersed in different cultures and landscapes. Whether it’s trying new foods, hiking in a national park, going on a pub crawl, or visiting art museums, botanical gardens, or ruins, she loves adventure and exploration.
Music — Erin loves attending music festivals and concerts, especially EDM. Her favorite Artist/DJ is Rezz. Erin finds Rezz’ music style as well as visuals very hypnotizing and compelling, which greatly inspires her tattoo art style. She feels most at home at music festivals, and her favorite festival is Lost Lands.
Snowboarding — she grew up snowboarding, and would spend as much of her winters on the mountains as possible.
Film / TV — Erin has a huge appreciation for these forms of storytelling. She even enjoys learning about screenwriting and doing her own writing in her free time, just as a personal creative outlet.
Video games — Her favorites are Zelda, Diablo, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, and Overcooked.
