Face painting by Mack Turner in Winchester

I'm Mack, a mixed-media artist working in Hagerstown MD and the DMV, while residing in northwestern Virginia. I'm mixed, Indigenous, & I was raised in Appalachia, and that has influenced and affected my art, career, and been a big piece of what fueled me to be an activist. I have always wanted to be a tattoo artist and be able to think of a world where I may be able to sustain myself while pursuing art. Most of my art pieces are mixed media works done in a sketchbook to keep myself on track by doing art that makes me feel motivated and passionate. I have been drawing and creating since I was a baby. I started becoming interested and learning about tattooing- and its associated art competencies - in 2015. l am a medic, I worked as a volunteer firefighter/EMT in Frederick County VA, while in high school and early college. Throughout the first year of Covid, I was an EMT, I have been a Hospital worker, ambulance driver, a personal caregiver, a harm reduction coordinator and a Community health advocate and I am constantly looking to reassess my ideals, priorities, and the future. Community is so important to me, and as a disabled low-income person living in capitalism, I have realized that I need to focus more on what I love, who I love, and what sustains us. I am now focusing on gardening and growing food, creativity, community, and myself. I steward an indigenous led, regenerative farm in Winchester Va, and do art, painting, creative odd jobs, and community emergency medicine consultations as my primary income. I am actively working to better myself, my community, and supporting creating more opportunities for those around me. My long-term goal outside of tattooing is growing amongst my community and in my artistic journey, is to finish my degree and work to become a psychiatric PA-but that’ll take me a while lol