The main reason for that is that I was born with only one hand and damn near everyone told me that there was no way I could properly stretch the skin to tattoo therefore there was no way I could tattoo. What were some of the barriers/struggles you have faced as a tattoo artist?Īs I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t taken seriously by quite a few shops. A few days later, I got a call saying that I had the strongest portfolio out of everyone that had inquired and that the apprenticeship was mine! He looked over my drawings, and said he’d get back to me as they had a few people applying for the apprenticeship. When I was 22 an old friend of mine messaged me on Facebook saying that there was a tattoo shop in the area that was looking to hire an apprentice, so I got my portfolio together and met up with the owner. In just over a 4 year period I was put through the ringer a couple of times: people not taking me seriously, new shops promising me apprenticeships and then changing their minds, working at a shop just to be sexualized and treated like shit (the basics of becoming an apprentice, right?). (I know, I know, don’t judge! I was young and uneducated on tattooing at that time and had no idea it was a “no-no”!) Once I found out that I wasn’t going about it the right way, I tossed all of my “tattooing equipment,” worked on building up my portfolio, and waited until I was 18 to start harassing shops. When I was 15 years old my father, being a supporter of me and my dreams, bought me a “tattoo kit” off of Amazon. I had known from a very young age that I wanted to be a tattoo artist.
This week: Ashley Dahl, co-owner of Black Sheep in St. Welcome to Meet the Tattoo Artist, a series where we aim to showcase a variety of talented Twin Cities tattoo artists who are creating spectacular art on peoples’ bodies in Minnesota.
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