TAT is a division of Sacred Transformations, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that was started by Eric Dean Spruth in 2003 after realizing a need to help those with demonstrative tattoos that he could recognize were experiencing great distress in their self-identity and their personal value as a result of their tattoos. TAT seeks to help people move forward with their lives and away from negative experiences by providing transformative art therapy that minimizes, transforms, or erases these no-longer desired body marks or scars, to give people a fresh start. He never claims he is the one helping the individuals but rather the organization is.
Eric truly feels that he is on a ride with the clients and they are the ones in control. Giving control to the individuals is something TaAT believes is a huge and integral part of their transformative art therapy. Whether getting a tattoo to cover an existing tattoo, scar, brand or burn, or using laser treatments to lighten and hopefully effectively remove existing ink, or a combination of both, it is the person we are helping who guides us in the vision of their beauty. Sometimes the process is long and arduous, but the end result is always a proud, emotional, and spiritual change for the individual.
In the years since its founding, TaAT and Sacred Transformations have branched out to help sex trafficked workers, former gang members, inmates and military veterans who are re-entering civilian life, those who self-mutilate as in "cutting," and individuals in the LGBTQ community. we have also provided at-risk youth education that teaches them the imagery, meaning, permanency, and risks of tattoos; art therapy for pregnant moms; and other programs to help people be confident, strong and loving in themselves.
Sacred Transformations has been represented in documentaries and feature exposés regarding sex trafficking on WGN, and gangs on ABC 7 Chicago. as well as stories featured on NPR, and WTTW City Talk and in The Columbia Chronical, and The Chicago Tribune, along with other media coverage.
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Mission Statement
TaAT and Sacred Transformations are dedicated to helping people who are tattooed, scarred, branded or burnt from negative experiences to transform those marks into art pieces that celebrate one’s individuality. The experience empowers the individual to express in their own terms who they are inside. It is our goal for those marks to be converted into a source of daily inspiration to maintain sobriety, to be committed to the welfare and betterment of children, family, community and self. Our organization believes that these transformative tattoos will provide a historically qualified link to spirituality and culture and deliver the individual a new rite of passage – a symbol of evolving consciousness and personal evolution.