Crave Magazine » Content » Extreme Art - 2008 » An Interview with Sacred Transformation’s Eric Spruth

An Interview with Sacred Transformation’s Eric Spruth
By Soup

    There are people in this world who think of nothing but themselves. They go through the day wondering how everything and everyone can benefit them directly with little thought to any consequences. Their world extends to the tip of their nose and never reaches beyond. The only thing that makes them tolerable in any sense is the fact that there are people in this world who are the exact polar opposite; they consider everything else before themselves and dedicate their lives to making sure other people are being enriched to their fullest extent. Eric Spruth is of the latter category. He is the type of person who uses every single talent and skill he possesses to make the world a better place, and his talents and skills are impressively varied. As an artist, Eric graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago, earning an undergraduate degree in fine arts with a minor in Psychology and Philosophy,and a Masters in Art Therapy. With these prestigious tools he taught as a professor at the Adler School of Professional Psychology art therapy program, and benevolently became an expressive art therapist within the Cook County Bureau of Health’s mental health services department of Cermak Health Services at Cook County Jail. Years ago he took his passion for magic tricks,and, with the help of the Society of American Magicians, he used his vacation time to launch a magic-therapy program that lifted the spirits in children’s hospitals and mental health facilities the world over, including such countries as South Africa, Italy, China, Egypt, India, Croatia, Jordan, and Israel, among other locales.

    I talked with Eric while he was on break at the Cook County Jail. We talked mostly about his project Sacred Transformations. Empathetically sensing the suffering people felt from being branded, burnt, scarred and tattooed with symbols of hate that they now regret, Eric took it upon himself to do something to make their self esteem, and thus their quality of life, better through reconstructive tattooing. But the story of how this came to be really begins with Scooby Doo.

    Eric is a believer in modern mythologies we often dismiss. Scooby Doo, he says, is the story of a bunch of awkward teenagers who, individually, couldn’t overcome the obstacles in their way. Yet together as a team unified by a common goal of Pursuing the Truth and Doing the Right Thing, they use their individual talents to win the day. This affected him so much he created a tribute to the group’s van and dubbed it “The Tattoo Machine.” The van itself brought Eric together with artists in the community who were willing to take him on as an apprentice to help him with his noble pursuit. Operating from South Side Tattoos in Chicago, Eric dedicates one night a week to the project. Having a full time job and a baby daughter doesn’t leave room for more than that but that one night a week is more than enough to change people’s lives. The waiting list is already over a year long, although if a situation arises that is time-sensitive and detrimental, there is a process to being moved up the queue.

    Sacred Transformations is the perfect description for what Eric does. Certainly, he transforms gang tattoos into something less lethal. Indeed, he sculpts scars and burns into works of art. But he described to me that before a single drop of ink touches the skin, his clients must go through their own transformation. He does the work for free, but only if the clients work just as hard. They must do extensive research into their tattoo including the symbology represented, hard facts about the subject they choose, and most importantly, why it’s so relevant to them spiritually. The homework shows Eric they are willing to actually evolve into their representations. From there, Eric uses his ability to turn a swastika into a Phoenix, a disfiguring scar into a pussy willow with a dragonfly perched upon it, track marks into a dragon, or any other way to turn something disempowering into something beautiful.

    Eric Spruth is a man with a mission. That mission is to give power back to the disenfranchised, make people with little to no self-worth see themselves as potent and vibrant individuals, learn from everyone he meets, and teach those who seek help. The tattoo gun is only his most recent tool, Sacred Transformations his most recent endeavor, and yours truly, the last person he has touched with his sincere benevolence. The world is a better place because Eric is in it, and I’m certain his long list of confident and self-empowered past clients would wholeheartedly agree. You can see for yourself the blood, sweat, and tears put into this project and learn more about Eric at www.sacredtransformations.org