When I first set out to become a tattooer, I had no idea the impact this job would have on other people. That might sound silly when you think about permanently marking on people’s skin, but I didn’t know that it would go deeper than that emotionally. That’s what I want to focus on for International Tattoo Day 2024.
You’re more than just someone slinging ink.
You’re a visualizer.
You’re a therapist.
You’re a healer.
The benefits of tattooing people wasn’t something covered in my apprenticeship because I don’t think we looked at it that way at the time. The fact that your work can help people heal; heal trauma, heal from loss, heal from relationships- including relationships with themselves. Have you heard the term ‘tattoo therapy’? It’s a real thing for a lot of people. I wrote a blog about that too which you can read here.
Yes, some tattoos are purely just decorative, and there’s nothing wrong with that. They’re some of my favourite tattoos to do. But some tattoos have meaning that runs so deep, it would make the hardest soul cry.
Just before the pandemic shutdown, I thought I had fallen out of love with tattooing. I was stressed and uninspired. A few bad apples were really making me question if I wanted to keep doing this. I also had a new business that was demanding more of my attention. I was drowning in things that had to be done with no end in sight.
Once the initial shock of the shutdown started to wear off, and my burgeoning workload ceased to exist, I realized it wasn’t that I had fallen out of love with tattooing, but that I was too overwhelmed to enjoy the time it was taking to create.
As the shutdown continued, the fog of overstimulation and multitasking was lifting, and I missed it. I missed drawing images and bringing them to life on skin. I missed learning from other people and striving to do better work.
This year my studio, Rolling Sea Tattooery, celebrates its 10th year of business. It’s kind of hard to believe. Ten years since I decided to pack up my life in St. John’s, leave behind the only shop I’d really known and the mentor who taught me how to do this. Leaving behind the safety of an established clientele and to start all over again.
I didn’t know if I had what it took to run a business (wrote a blog on that, too that you can read here – cause if I can do it, YOU can do it!). I didn’t know if I’d be able to amass the same volume of work in another province. Now here we are, 10 years later and doing better than I could have dreamed.
In 2017, I tattooed in every province in Canada and worked more conventions than I ever had before. I took on an apprentice in 2021, Jen Power, which turned out to be the best thing I could do for Rolling Sea. In 2023, we moved into our newest and permanent space that we’re still settling in to.
I hope this inspires you to look at people’s tattoos differently when you see them out in the wild now. If you’re already an enthusiast, you probably already wonder what the story behind certain tattoos are. I love what I’ve created here for myself, for Jen and for all of our clients. I don’t know what the next ten years will bring, but I know I’m excited to find out.
Cheers to another International Tattoo Day.
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