This is the first installment of Heather Bartlett’s ‘Best of Waldorf’ series.  Throughout the summer, The Bay Net will bring you feature interviews with owners and managers of a selection of Waldorf’s best retail and entertainment establishments.  If you would like to nominate a business for consideration in the series, contact Heather Bartlett using the email link at the end of the article. 

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HOW DOES THE CLEAR, well-trod path to becoming a lawyer become a freshly hacked lesser-traveled trail to a career as a tattoo artist?  La Plata resident and tattoo shop owner, Matthew Kiley, admits that youth, bull-headedness and a substantial dose of spite drew him headlong into his career as a tattoo artist. 

While pursuing a degree in Political Science at the University of Connecticut, Kiley decided to take an art class.  At one point in the semester, the instructor told Kiley that that his work was terrible.  The instructor bluntly explained that Kiley had no talent, then encouraged him to put down the pencil and never pick it up again. 

The spite Kiley mentioned kicked in and shortly after that incident he left U of C.  He enrolled in Paier College of Art; and, contrary to his original art instructor’s assessment, Kiley successfully earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art in 1995, having majored in illustration. 

He managed to convince well-known Connecticut tattoo artist, Zee to take Kiley on as his apprentice.  According to Kiley, the apprenticeship turned out to be rather like the early scenes from The Karate Kid.  He remembers doing a lot of grunt work until he earned the privilege of Zee’s instruction in the ways of mixing pigments and other old-school tattoo techniques.  

After mastering the craft, Kiley worked for Zee another year before establishing his own shop in Connecticut for a couple of years.  Kiley moved around the country for a while, and then settled in La Plata.

His growing reputation and impressive resume includes a 1st place award for his Celtic and tribal work at the Richmond Summer Tattoo Convention.  He has also done work on several well-known people:  musicians Chris Fehn and Mick Thompson of Slipknot; local DJ’s Mickey at 98 Rock and Ed Norris of WHFS 105.7; and members of the Baltimore band vs. the earth.  His work has also been featured in several tattoo magazines.

One of the top issues people consider before entering a tattoo establishment is the industry’s notorious reputation for lax health and safety standards.  According to Kiley, the state of Maryland doesn’t have