Today we’d like to introduce you to Arianna Slattery.
Hi Arianna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always been an artist. I was drawing since I could pick up a crayon, and illustration and painting became my passions. I was under the impression, however, that being an artist was not something you could make a career out of, and rather, it was only a hobby. I went to a private liberal arts college; I studied psychology and philosophy and got my bachelors degree. Throughout the tail end of high-school and all of my college years I fell out of practice with art, focusing on my studies instead. I began to realize that I felt pent up without creative expression and that it was taking a huge toll on my mental health. Right after I graduated college I decided I needed to start drawing again, every day. It was hard at first because getting back into it I could clearly see that my skill had deteriorated due to years of neglect. I pushed past it, however, and began to fall back in love. During this time after graduation I was working in the field of psychology as a behavioral therapist for children with autism for about a year. I realized that this type of work was not for me and that art was where my heart was supposed to be. I felt lost, like I had made the wrong choices and I should have studied art instead. One fall evening in 2021 I was driving home from work and then it hit me. I needed to become a tattoo artist. I already loved tattoos, body modification, and self expression, and being a tattoo artist seemed like a very functional and reasonable art career. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it sooner! The idea was a little scary to me and I knew that it would not be well received by my family. I was essentially going to backstep in life and start heading into completely uncharted and potentially turbulent waters. After some consideration I realized that getting into the tattoo industry was not going to be easy. There was/is an overflow of new artists in the scene and the competition is very tough. I needed a strong portfolio to even be considered. I decided that I needed time to work on my portfolio, and while doing so I should get my foot in the door and get some experience in the industry. I was very lucky to land a spot as a piercing apprentice, and began doing body piercing. I was piercing by day and drawing and painting by night. As expected, my family was not too pleased with this new development so I left home and was off on my own, poking people to pay the bills! After I completed my piercing apprenticeship I needed to find a new shop to spread my wings. This landed me at Tough Luck Tattoo in Crystal MN, which is where I currently work out of to this day. The owner, Jennifer, took me in as a body piercer and I worked for her for a couple years. Eventually, things lined up such that I felt it was an appropriate time to try and switch gears into tattooing. Jennifer agreed to apprentice me, and finally, in June of 2024 I did my first tattoo! Since then tattooing has been amazing and I feel so lucky to be able to do this each day. I am always striving to become a better artist and improve my skills, and I will never stop learning. I am blessed with the opportunity to create awesome things and work with other creatives. It was a long journey since 2021, but 4 years later and it has all become worth it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not. I received lots of pushback from my family that thought I was making a mistake and heading down the wrong path. It has been a game of patience, carefully calculating my next steps that I needed to take in order to get closer to my end goal. It has also been a huge financial struggle. Going through two separate apprenticeships (piercing and tattooing) has left me broke for such a long time. When starting out on this career you can’t charge much (if anything at all) for your services because you are still learning and likely to make mistakes. It’s pretty serious stuff, it hurts your clients and it’s permanent. There are also a lot of tattoo artists these days so the supply outweighs the demand. It’s a very competitive scene and it’s tough to get people into your shop. I’m trying so hard to become a better artist every day and build up a clientele.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a tattoo artist and a body piercer. I hand paint all of my tattoo flash (flash are premade designs for people to chose from). I specialize in bold and colorful pieces, which are somewhat adjacent to “traditional” style tattoos. My tattoos are a unique blend of my own creative vision and inspiration from old traditional style tattoos. I also take inspiration from some newer styles, such as neo-traditional. I like to think that I’m known for my cute designs and professionalism. I have many designs to choose from but I also work with clients’ visions and ideas to come up with unique custom tattoos. I love doing fun silly tattoos but I also enjoy meaningful tattoos that my clients will hopefully be proud to carry with them throughout their lives.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
To be honest I am not sure which city is being referred to right now.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @vantablavk / @toughlucktattoomn
