Ram’s Father with Grandson Dakota

From Ram’s Facebook Pages (Ram Lee Art & Traverse City Tattoo), Tuesday March 5, 2013…..

“Just need to get a few things out there today. First of all the support and work that I have up here in Traverse City has been incredible! I’m booked into the first week of April with tattoo work and filming has been going great. That being said I’m treading into uncharted territory in my personal life. We have called hospice in for my dad who has been fighting lung cancer for over a year now. My dad is my best friend and he and my mom have always been there for us. Unconditional love. I’m writing this because I believe in communication and I want my customers and friends to know that if I’m behind on a drawing or have to reschedule a tattoo that I’m not flaking out. I’ve never been through this and quite frankly it sucks! Trying to focus on work and everyday tasks is gotten a lot harder as I realize that time is getting short for my dad. Those of you who know me know that my family has always come first and that isn’t going to change. So what that means is I will manage my schedule accordingly to get as much time with my mom and dad as I can. I truly appreciate those of you that I have met and tattooed and hope to tattoo. I hope that you can be patient with me as my family and I get through this. My dad taught me to never underestimate the power of prayer so please if you would say one for my mom and dad. Take care everyone.”

Ram’s father passed away on May 8, 2013 after a valiant year-and-a-half battle with cancer.

Please keep Ram’s family in your thoughts and prayers.

A video shot by Nick Damian,a film student at the Academy at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He wanted to do a mini-documentary on me for his thesis project, and we filmed it this past winter. I was impressed by Nick’s hard work, and his ability to capture my thoughts and beliefs on film in such a great way. Nick earned an “A” for his thesis, as well as from me. Please take a few minutes to check the video – I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy it.

Post courtesy of ClearStream Concepts
Video by Greg Argyle 

As Ram began establishing himself here in northern Michigan, he realized how important it was to get involved in our local community. His name was “out there” in the global tattoo world, but he was relatively unknown in the Traverse City area. Ram knew he could advertise himself and Traverse City Tattoo, and spend tons of cash doing so – but these efforts would only serve himself….and that’s not Ram. So he began looking for regional events that benefited other people, and/or the local art world, where he could put his skills to work.

Earlier in the year Ram became aware of events the uber cool stores, “Glik’s”, were putting on, in conjunction with “TOMS Shoes”. Glik’s wanted artists to help customize shoes during their “TOMS “Style Your Sole” events”. Ram’s staff got in touch with Glik’s, and they in turn reviewed his portfolio and interviewed him. Glik’s loved Ram’s work, and he and his son Dakota were added to the group of artists customizing shoes for their events.




If you’re not familiar with “TOMS Shoes”, you should be. TOMS is known for their “One For One Movement”, which simply means, for every pair of TOMS Shoes purchased, they give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. The “Style Your Sole events” events make it possible for people to get a great pair of shoes, and have them customized by local artists. Ram & Dakota are among the local artist’s helping Glik’s with this effort in Traverse City and Charlevoix.




On Saturday, July 2, at the Glik’s store on Front Street in Traverse City, MI, Ram & Dakota decorated 20 pairs of shoes between the two of them. These were all custom designs, ideas presented to them by those who purchased TOMS Shoes during the event. Some were merely just ideas, while others were more involved, involving references from print and digital sources. Ram & Dakota took those ideas, and put their skills to work with pens, pencils and paints.

Think about it. Ram & Dakota could have been watching the air show, or chilling on the beach, or enjoying the Cherry Festival, or riding their longboards along Grand Traverse Bay. Ram could have bought ads & commercials, or banners pulled by airplanes, or any number of things, to help establish himself in the tattoo and art world in northern Michigan. Instead, he and his son chose to sit in front of a store on a hot Summer day and customize shoes for 6 hours….and they had a blast doing it! They made 20 people very happy, they helped put shoes on 20 kids somewhere in the world, and Ram promoted himself in a way that is true to his spirit and his faith.

You can catch up with Ram & Dakota this Saturday, July 16. They will be at Glik’s at 113 Bridge St. in Charlevoix, during the Venetian Festival.



Post courtesy of ClearStream Concepts
Photos by Greg Argyle – Digital Media Specialist

Much has occurred in the many weeks since our last post – Traverse City Tattoo’s Grand Opening Party, a “Free Tattoo Contest”, an interview of Ram & his family by a local NBC tv station, Ram ministered to the Beach Bums baseball team, and of course, numerous killer tattoos have left the studio. In the coming weeks, Ram and his son will be the artists at a couple TOMS Shoes “Style Your Sole” events during the Cherry and Venetian Festivals. Along the way there have been miles ridden along the Grand Traverse Bay on longboards, singletrack adventures on mountain bikes, carefree strolls with December, and a few evenings spent hanging with friends like Levi Britton at places like Kilkenny’s and Right Brain Brewery. For Ram, and his friends & family, life truly is GOOD!

A great time was had by all who attended Traverse City Tattoo’s Grand Opening Party at Right Brain Brewery. There were plenty of folks with great ink in attendance. Fellow tattoo artists from the Traverse City area stopped by to enjoy the camaraderie and some fine brews. Numerous gift certificates were given away by Ram & friends, and Ram was given a wonderful gift (a full length, framed mirror for the studio) by his good friend Don (the octopus’ owner). And the winner of the Free Tattoo Contest was announced.

The Free Tattoo Contest was a great success, with entries received from all over the world. It helped bring awareness to Ram’s relocation to northern Michigan and to his new studio, Traverse City Tattoo. The winner of the $300 Gift Certificate (which itself was a piece of custom artwork created by Ram and his good friend Jeff Grames) was Lyman Robertson of Jackson, MI. Since $300 is Ram’s new “day rate”, Lyman will end up with a seriously sweet piece of art!

Amidst all these happenings were a couple of other memorable moments for Ram and his family. They were interviewed on UpNorth Live (NBC TV 7&4/TV 29&8) by Erika Erickson. The interview also included a conversation with Nick Mullins, an amazing eyesight compromised skateboard pro. Ram was asked to minister to our area’s minor league baseball team, the Traverse City Beach Bums. As well, Ram’s son Dakota, was recognized for his art skills at an exhibition at the Traverse City Art Center.

After a lengthy review process, involving the submission of artwork and a couple of interviews, Ram and his son were asked to be the artists at a couple of TOMS Shoes “Style Your Sole” events being put on by Glik’s. If you’re not familiar with TOMS Shoes, they give a pair of their shoes to a child in need of footwear, for every pair of TOMS Shoes us more fortunate people buy. Their shoes are super comfortable, and via the Style Your Sole events, you can get them customized with unique art for only $10! Ram and Dakota will be at the following Style Your Sole events:

July 2 (during the Cherry Festival) – Glik’s Traverse City store at 206 E. Front St
July 16 (during the Venetian Festival) – Glik’s Charlevoix store at 113 Bridge St

Traverse City Tattoo has taken off nicely, and Ram has been rather busy. He’s talking to a few of his friends who are award-winning, well-known tattoo artists, and in the coming weeks there will be some very interesting guest artists in the studio. As well, Ram is changing his pricing structure to help clients who live far away, come to Traverse City to chill and get some ink. This change in his business practices will enable him to stay home with his family, meet the needs of his growing client base here in northern Michigan, and those who live many miles away. People have been coming from near and far for “personal masterpieces”, and here are just a few of the pieces that have come out of Traverse City Tattoo in the last few weeks.

Thank you for stopping by RamLeeTattoo.com and catching up with Ram. If you like staying up to speed with Ram, you can do so via his Facebook Fan Pages (RamLeeArt and TraverseCityTattoo), the tumblr site for Traverse City Tattoo, or by riding a longboard or mountain bike with him. If you’re looking for a tattoo from Ram, you’ll want to keep an eye on this site, and the rest of Ram’s online presence. In the days ahead we’ll be discussing Ram’s new business policies for those who travel long distances to get ink at Traverse City Tattoo, as well as the opportunity to get work done on a “day rate”, which will save you tons of ca$h. Also, Ram will be offering some very cool and nicely priced cherry tattoo specials to coincide with the Cherry Festival. Keep your eyes peeled for the announcements, they should be up in the next few days.

GRAND OPENING PARTY!

Saturday, June 4 at 4pm

Right Brain Brewery – Below Traverse City Tattoo

Free Tattoo Contest Winner Will Be Drawn

SHOW YOUR INK
GET $1 OFF YOUR FIRST BEER

Numerous Door Prizes

A Number of Local Artists & Tattooists Will Be In Attendance
You Should Be Too!

Contest is for a $300 Gift Certificate for a Tattoo
Done By Ram Lee at Traverse City Tattoo

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

RULES OF ENTRY

:: Must Be 18 Years Of Age To Enter ::

:: Active Email Address and/or Telephone Number Required ::

Anyone Tattooed by Ram Lee Before June 1, 2011
Receives An Extra Contest Entry!

(one extra entry per tattoo)

DUPLICATE ENTRIES WILL NOT BE HONORED

(unless you were granted an additional entry because you received a tattoo from Ram during the contest)

Please Do The Following….

“Like” The Facebook Fan Pages For Traverse City Tattoo and Ram Lee Art

Leave A Comment Below

GOOD LUCK!



We left Traverse City in the wee hours of the morning, cutting first tracks in fresh snow as we headed south. For this event the ClearStream Concepts media team consisted of Mongo, Terrapin Flyer, Aimee & Greg Argyle and Connor Boyle. Ram had left on Thursday, and we could tell from our phone conversations with him, he was stoked. Ram enjoys tattoo conventions, loves his craft, and this was an opportunity for him to hang out with a number of good friends, clients and fellow artists.

Ram will be tattooing at these four shows later this year:

11th Annual Arizona Tattoo Expo in Mesa, AZ | May 21 & 22
Hell City Fest in Phoenix, AZ | Aug. 26 – 28
13th Annual Texas Tattoo Round Up in Dallas, TX | Sept. 16 – 18
St. Louis Old School Tattoo Expo | Nov. 11 – 13

Ram wishes to thank all those who stopped by his booth at the show. Especially those that became part of the fun by getting their tattoo on this occasion.

This portrait was done in two sessions on back to back days. The first day I worked on it for six hours and focused on the hands, body and jewelry. Gary sat like a champ considering the placement of the tattoo was on his front leg, shin bone area. Ouch. I really wanted to take my time and focus on the details such as the hands and the jewelry that she is wearing. I feel that by paying close attention to these kinds of details, it really brings the tattoo to life.