Page 34 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2020

ARTS
The creativity and impact the Anderson family has made in Ocean Springs continues through the
younger generations with the latest show at Walter Anderson Museum of Art (WAMA). “Bloodlines”
celebrates Matt Stebly, a great-grandson of Walter Anderson who has been recognized worldwide for
practicing the art of tattooing.
From the point of his needle, Stebly, 33, can make great blue herons take ight, alligators bask in the sun, owers
blossom and pineapples glow on the skin of art collectors. Stebly’s designs are in an illustrative style with the images
bold and brightly colored. Animals are among his favorite subject matter from birds and sh to possums and octopuses.
He is able to transform the uidity of a brush into the precision of a tattoo needle.
“Matt has his own style, but it’s rooted in the same landscape, the same coastal identity. It’s really ne for us to
see the work, for one, and to see the people who attend the exhibit make those connections as well,” said Julian Rankin,
executive director of WAMA.
Stebly has been producing and selling art since childhood – he
had a booth at the Peter Anderson festival next to his uncle’s, artist Chris Stebly. He apprenticed at a tattoo shop when
he was 21, and then opened his own in 2012 in St. Martin. His vision of creating a family friendly art gallery and tattoo
studio became a reality when he opened Twisted Anchor Tattoo and Fine Art Gallery at 1101 Government St. in
downtown Ocean Springs in 2016. Stebly’s parents – self-employed shing guide Capt. Mark
Stebly and educator Terry Ello Stebly – encouraged him to nd something he enjoyed.
“I’d never thought I could make a living at doing art. I get to do this all the time. I’m lucky enough to nd tattooing,” he
said.
Mattie Codling, WAMA director of collections and
exhibitions, approached Stebly two years ago about having an exhibit at the museum.
“I thought it was a good idea. The name ‘Bloodlines’ is a cliché, but it worked well with the family connections with
34 | March 2020
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