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<p>Ryan Ashley Malarkey&#8217;s ascension to Ink Master on Tuesday night on the Spike TV show of the same name was an individual accomplishment, based on the merit of her talent and grit, and a first for her gender in the tattoo industry.</p><p>But, as Malarkey has repeatedly stressed, it was also a victory for Northeastern Pennsylvania. In recent Times Leader interviews, the 29-year-old Shavertown artist has stressed the importance of her support system and the camaraderie of the arts community around her in helping her along the way to the coveted title.</p><p>In the wake of her victory on a national stage, local artists and industry professionals weighed in on Malarkey&#8217;s accomplishments and on the quietly booming artistic community from which she rose.</p><p>Chris Longo is an internationally known tattoo collector. The majority of his body is an homage to nearly 40 years of traveling, meeting renowned artists and exercising his passion for art in its various mediums.</p><p>Longo became acquainted with Northeastern Pennsylvania during a long run of emceeing the Inkin&#8217; The Valley Tattoo Convention during its 20-year existence from 1994 to 2013. He now owns houses in Drums and Hillborough, N.J., and he is the owner of Town Hall Tattoo in the Wyoming Valley Mall.</p><p>He recently returned from the inaugural International Puerto Rican Tattoo convention, where he was a guest judge.</p><p>Malarkey said Longo was encouraging to her during her development as a tattoo artist, even buying one of her paintings early on in her career.</p><p>&#8220;When I met her, I looked at her drawings, and I was really impressed with how good she actually was,&#8221; Longo said. &#8220;I still have a text message I sent her in 2011 saying she was an excellent artist, and I thought she was going to do very well in the tattoo industry.&#8221;</p><p>Longo&#8217;s intuition was accurate, as Malarkey has not only succeeded on &#8220;Ink Master&#8221; but has grown her private practice on a yearly basis.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s accomplished more in the four years or so she&#8217;s been tattooing than pretty much anyone I&#8217;ve ever come across,&#8221; Longo said.</p><p>Longo said Malarkey&#8217;s victory shines a light on a greater artistic community that is full of talented and hard working artists.</p><p>&#8220;This whole area has a lot of hidden gems,&#8221; Longo said. &#8220;I have Bob Lewis who works for me. He&#8217;s amazing. In Scranton, there&#8217;s Jo Santos at Art Rage (Tattoo). Ron Russo (owner of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s 570 Tattooing Co.) has earned a big, big name for himself. He&#8217;s another very good artist.&#8221;</p><p>Owner of Kingston tattoo studio Holier Than Thou, Austina Obscure agreed with Longo.</p><p>&#8220;It brings a magnifying glass to the entire area,&#8221; Obscure said. &#8220;It&#8217;s given people in our area an appreciation for how important art is in the world and for people to be a little more open minded about it in our area.&#8221;</p><p>Obscure said Malarkey&#8217;s national exposure has also made people focus on the wide pool of talent in Northeastern Pennsylvania across all aspects of artistic expression.</p><p>Longo, with his wealth of industry experience, said Malarkey is a good candidate to represent the artistic community on a grand scale because of her work ethic and her kind disposition.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside,&#8221; Longo said. &#8220;I told her before she went on the show that I firmly believe they&#8217;ll have a show just for Ryan, just like they did for Kat (Von D).&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Austina Obscure works on a client inside of her Kingston studio Holier Than Thou. Obscure said Ryan Ashley Malarkey&#8217;s success on Spike TV&#8217;s &#8216;Ink Master&#8217; has brought a magnifying glass to the thriving artistic community in Northeastern Pennsylvania. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_IMG_5749.jpg</photo0><caption0>Austina Obscure works on a client inside of her Kingston studio Holier Than Thou. Obscure said Ryan Ashley Malarkey&#8217;s success on Spike TV&#8217;s &#8216;Ink Master&#8217; has brought a magnifying glass to the thriving artistic community in Northeastern Pennsylvania. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader archive photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_tattooPic-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ryan Ashley Malarkey was voted into the top two contestants on Tuesday&#8217;s finale of Spike TV&#8217;s &#8216;Ink Master&#8217; for this fine line black and gray tattoo. Malarkey went on to become the first female Ink Master in the shows eight season history. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_tattooPic-4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ryan Ashley Malarkey was voted into the top two contestants on Tuesday&#8217;s finale of Spike TV&#8217;s &#8216;Ink Master&#8217; for this fine line black and gray tattoo. Malarkey went on to become the first female Ink Master in the shows eight season history. </caption1><photoCredit1>Courtesy of Spike TV </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_chrislongo.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Renowned tattoo collector and owner of Town Hall Tattoo in the Wyoming Valley Mall said Northeastern Pennsylvania is full of &#8216;hidden gems&#8217; in terms of talented artists and that recently crowned Ink Master Ryan Ashley Malarkey deserved to represent the community because of her strong work ethic and kind disposition. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_chrislongo.jpg</photo2><caption2>Renowned tattoo collector and owner of Town Hall Tattoo in the Wyoming Valley Mall said Northeastern Pennsylvania is full of &#8216;hidden gems&#8217; in terms of talented artists and that recently crowned Ink Master Ryan Ashley Malarkey deserved to represent the community because of her strong work ethic and kind disposition. </caption2><photoCredit2>Clark Van Orden | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Ryan Malarkey&#8217;s success shines light on thriving arts scene</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or Twitter @TLArts</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Thriving arts community supports Ink Master Ryan Ashley Malarkey