Photo by Derek Redd Tattoo artist Maelin Biondillo, left, prepares a design on the wrist of longtime client Amy Langley of Wellsburg on Wednesday at 1601 Custom Tattoos in Moundsville. Biondillo spent Wednesday offering tattoos at that shop for donations to help with Ohio County flood relief.

Maelin Biondillo may call central Illinois home now, but the Ohio Valley has always been and always will be close to her heart.

The Weirton native was floored as she saw photos and videos from friends chronicling the devastation wrought by the flash floods June 14 throughout Ohio County. Friends and family members of friends were directly impacted, she said.

She wanted to do something to help, so she turned to her talents to do it.

A veteran tattoo artist who spent years working at Hot Rod Tattoo in Martins Ferry, she decided to pack up and use part of her vacation to put those talents to work to benefit those affected. Biondillo spent eight hours Wednesday at 1601 Custom Tattooing in Moundsville offering tattoos for donations that will go straight to Ohio Valley Mutual Aid to help in that group’s efforts.

“West Virginia is always going to be my home,” she said. “Being from the Ohio Valley, there’s that really strong, kind of unmatched sense of community that I’ve always felt.”

Biondillo would always participate in fundraising events when she worked at Hot Rod, a shop that she said was always very involved in the community. She also said she was inspired by Wheeling artist Logan Schmitt, who was selling Wheeling-inspired prints to benefit flood recovery efforts.

Customers could choose from 10 of Biondillo’s designs. Donations were $50 for a black outline, $100 for black and gray shading and $150 for color. She had started collecting donations in Illinois and already had raised $1,300 and was hoping to at least match that in Moundsville on Wednesday.

Shortly into her stint at 1601, she had seen several customers, including some longtime clients, and there were more people waiting in the lobby for their turn.

Amy Langley of Wellsburg is one of Biondillo’s longest-term clients and said it was a perfect opportunity to get some more ink and help others in the process.

“It’s awesome that she’s doing this,” Langley said of Biondillo. “She saw what was happening where she’s living now and it was just automatic for her. It just shows you the type of person she is.”

Biondillo hopes her work Wednesday will inspire others to tap into their gifts and help those hit hard by the floods. It is the people of the region that have inspired her, so she just wanted to give back.

“I still think very highly of these people and this community,” she said. “There wasn’t even a second thought to it. No matter how much I can raise, it will still be something.”