Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelcie Spector. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kelcie, thanks for joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Not my work necessarily, but me as a person, absolutely yes. I’m from Kansas City and being heavily tattooed and alternative looking is extremely common there, so I fit right in. I rarely received odd looks or much judgement there. However after moving to a fairly rural area in central florida, I have definitely had to learn to cope with some blatant gawking and crazy remarks. For instance I was recently out for dinner with my partner, and we brought the dogs with us so we could all eat on a patio and enjoy the evening. Afterwards we walked across to the street to get ice cream. While my boyfriend was inside ordering, I sat down on the sidewalk with the two dogs. After a moment a lady approached me. She proceeded to ask if we were ok and told me about a homeless shelter around the corner that should be able to take us in… Apparently sitting on a sidewalk with dogs and tattoos makes you appear to be homeless. I’ve had strangers offer me hard drugs literally at Walmart on multiple occasions because apparently having tattoos means that’s an acceptable conversation to have with me. I have lots of stories but people are so rude and quick to judge someone with tattoos and not once in my experience have these people been right about me. And to be honest so many of my clients get tattooed simply out of being self conscious about their appearance (same with myself and my own tattoos). People just want to feel beautiful in their own skin and they deserve that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So I have definitely always been creative. I used to make handmade clothes and jewelry and all kinds of unique things and sell them on Etsy! That was my full time job for awhile. I’ve always loved body modifications of all kinds though and I eventually found myself a body piercing apprenticeship. I did not intend for this to lead to tattooing to be honest. I always thought my anxiety was way too bad to be permanently marking people like that. I also wasn’t a great artist at the time either and it just didn’t feel like a realistic possibility. However when I moved to Florida and started piercing at Touch of Ink Tattoo in Tavares, a tattoo apprenticeship was offered to me by my boss and I didn’t hesitate for one second! And that was one of the best decisions of my life. I dove deep into drawing before I even started tattooing fruits and it has truly been a trip to see my progress over the past four years of both drawing and tattooing. I can’t wait to keep growing and reflect on my progress! One thing that I feel sets me apart from others is the effort I put into making sure each client feels comfortable. That is something I have been told time and time again by clients and it is so important to me! You walk into a lot of tattoo shops and it’s loud music and aggressive men and that’s just not the vibe for everyone. I like to offer something different. You have anxiety? Me too! I got you. You’re safe here.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

This might seem silly but something that a lot of clients do that stresses me out A LOT, is try to rush my whole process. Whether that be sending me multiple emails before I have even had a chance to get to the first, trying to demand I send them their drawing two weeks before their appointment, or trying to micromanage my whole drawing process. Sometimes I think people forget that they are not my only client, or the only person emailing me. I tattoo all day, then spend all evening and sometimes late into the night working on each drawing, in the order they are on my schedule. I need the time to focus on each appointment. This is how I do my best work. Micromanaging every detail or bombarding me with requests/demands will only hinder my creative process, and it will show. I clearly outline my whole process in my booking info, and it’s painful how often people don’t read it. So in conclusion, respect the process and trust me!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I’m sure this is so obvious but hands down, the feeling of helping people to love them selves! I live for the emails i get about how I made people feel so much better about their bodies and insecurities, and feel more confident in their skin. I have been lucky enough to to do so many cover ups of self-harm scars and help people feel so strong and empowered and beautiful! It’s just a really beautiful thing and these people will all carry a piece of my heart and soul on them forever. It’s so crazy! Like I literally get to do awesome art and make people happy. What a life.

Contact Info:

• Website: Linktr.ee/SadGirlArt
• Instagram: @kelcie.spector
• Other: TikTok: @kelcie.spector

Image Credits
Kelcie Spector