We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachael Pawlicki . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachael below.

Rachael, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Haha, oh man, I remember staying up all night as an apprentice, drawing an assignment just to get to work and have my mentor rip it to shreds. He said my Kanji masks looked like Homer Simpson and my finger waves looked like cheese curls. It sucked at the time but made me a better artist. Also it was challenging being left handed. My set up had to be opposite of everybody else’s, and there are just little differences that you don’t realize at first because you have no idea what you’re doing. If I could go back, I’d stop being stubborn and switch to rotaries way sooner than I did. Old school machines (coils) are so much heavier and being left handed, the weight of it worked against my hand instead of with it. That, and halfway through my apprenticeship I had the opportunity to move across the country. I’m not saying I’d change that decision but I know staying would have sped up the process.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi I’m Rachael, and I’ve been in the tattoo scene for 15 years. I started off as a piercer and worked my my way up to tattooing. I have a soft spot for illustrative designs, although I play around with all sorts of styles.

I’ve been an artist since I was old enough to hold a pencil. Think walls, floors, you name it. I’d doodle on anything I could reach (sorry mom!). Creativity runs in the family though, and the artistic gene got passed down to me. My grandfather was a photographer and had his own studio, although he passed when I was a baby. Most of the credit goes to my grandmother, she’s a wonderful artist and really helped develop my talent. I absolutely loved spending my summers with her as a kid, she taught me so much about crafting and drawing. We’d decorate old refrigerator boxes and turn them into detailed fort cities. I remember being frustrated at my artwork back then for not looking ‘real’ enough. I was in school for graphic design when I saw that a local tattoo shop needed front desk help. Went in for an interview and left as a piercing apprentice.

Fast forward to today and I have my own studio. I still do piercings but really love tattooing. I keep photos of my grandparents in my station as a reminder of where I got my talent from. It was a long road to get here, I happen to love moving cities so it was challenging starting fresh each time building a clientbase, but it was also very beneficial. I had access to a variety of tattooers and soaked up as much knowledge as I could from them. It helped me grow as an artist and as a person. I try to apply as much of what I’ve learned in my every day as possible, and I love hosting other tattooers from all over while they’re in town. No matter where I was, art was always something I could come back to and feel like home. That’s the vibe I want my studio to feel like as well. Bedside manner is something we seem to overlook these days, but I feel it’s extremely important. There’s nothing better than a client telling me how at ease they feel during a session. This is something they will remember for the rest of their lives, and having a bad experience can shy them away from ever getting tattooed again. If you only knew the stories I still hear on a daily basis!

I am also a dog mom, and when I’m not tattooing I enjoy vending at art shows and going to music festivals. Painting is great as well because you can express yourself without the expectations of somebody wanting to wear it forever, and I find it can be a nice reset creatively.

My goal is to expand to a bigger studio, with space to host different kinds of events to provide a place where people feel a sense of community and growth. Wildlife conservation is another passion of mine, I used to be a keeper at a wildlife sanctuary in California. It was so rewarding, we need to protect them at all costs. It would be amazing to travel around and do so again in the future, but in the meantime I volunteer at local sanctuaries when I can and donate my art to their fundraisers.  I’m proud of myself for being a good person, always. We need more good people! Be kind to each other!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Well I’m currently in Denver and I’m pretty lucky to have such a large community that appreciates the arts. Everybody here is covered in tattoos, and the city is full of some seriously talented artists. It’s surreal for my shop to be so busy knowing what options exist for my clients. I do not take that for granted. Also, important for artists to have a place to showcase and sell our work so it’s nice to live in a city where it is encouraged. I was in St Louis for a while and I love the idea that they have a mural wall where it’s legal to go to graffiti on, love to see it. We also have art walks here, which are packed and in turn helps the small businesses on that side of town. It’s a great time to be an artist. Another tip, interact with our social media! It seriously matters and we appreciate you for doing so.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I can create things from imagination, whether it be my own or someone else’s. I always say that if I don’t like my reality I can just paint myself a new one. It’s dope seeing people appreciating my artwork, and being able to make a living from it. I get asked to put something I drew, permanently, on someone’s body. That’s pretty incredible. There’s a trust that comes with that and I love being able to provide that for my clients. This is something that they’re going to carry with them forever. I also think it’s so great to be able to help people love their bodies! You can see their boost in confidence when they look at their tattoo in the mirror for the first time, that is just so special.

Contact Info:

• Website: Etsy.com/artbyrachp
• Instagram: Instagram.com/Artbyrachp
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artbyrachp
• Twitter: https://Twitter.com/Artbyrachp