We recently connected with Auroura Morgan and have shared our conversation below.
Auroura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
As a small child, I fell in love with the concept of becoming an artist and my hands becoming skilled enough to create whatever I desire. I have pursued that all throughout my life and the dream of being a tattoo artist was always present. The idea of being such a skilled artist that people would delight in wearing my work as tattoos, has inspired me since I was about 5 or 6 years old. I had my whole life mapped out, I’d become a great tattoo artist by making lots of people really happy with my art, have my own fancy studio, live in a big city, have a giant pet turtle, you know all the big stuff small children dream of. Apparently it’s not common to pursue your childhood dreams. At that I am often met with surprise and the question, “How did you know exactly what you wanted out of life so young?!” My answer is that little me knew just knew what was up. I was validated in knowing it was the only career path for me in my early twenties, when I was well into pursuing it. I would say that I’ve always known and just trusted 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?
I’m Auroura (they/them) and I’m a tattoo artist and the owner of Black Lantern Tattoo Co in the West End neighborhood of Nashville, TN. I have lived my dream of being a professional tattoo artist for over 8 years. I opened up my private studio Black Lantern Tattoo Co in April 2021 during the pandemic. I specialize in custom tattooing and offer my original designs as flash by appointment. I am queer, neurodivergent, and in recovery. I am trauma informed and my studio is a safe space to get tattooed for adults 18 and over. Tattooing is my special interest and longest my hyper-fixation, which means that I really love what I do! You know that saying by Confucius? “Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” That’s exactly how I feel. Being Autistic, ADHD, nonbinary, and maintaining long term sobriety comes with its own ups and downs. Learning to live with life’s challenges has given me an amazing community to work with and contribute to. Ultimately my differences have never stopped me from living a happy and meaningful life or kept me from following my dreams. I live the life I imagined as a child, down to the giant turtle. I feel like it’s important to follow your dreams and go after everything you want, because chances are it can be way better than you ever imagined. Every single day I encourage the people in my life to go after what makes them happy.
Like any of the challenges we face in life, getting into the tattoo industry can be confusing and different for everyone. I knew it was what I wanted to do, so I committed to figuring it out. I did research, built a good portfolio, interviewed at different shops, found an apprenticeship, worked hard to learn everything I needed to know, became a licensed tattoo artist, gained experience, built a clientele, opened my own studio, and have remained dedicated to learning and growing throughout my career. Since opening my own beautiful private studio, my career has grown exponentially and I’ve accomplished more than I ever expected to. Honestly if there’s anything I’ve learned, being able to adapt and figure it out as you go is one the most valuable skills you can have.
As a custom tattoo artist, I focus on a broad range of tattoo styles from simplistic and minimalist adornments to elaborate large scale works. Some of my favorite styles include neotraditional, Japanese inspired works, illustrative, dotwork, and sacred geometry. I love working with all different color themes including just lines, black & grey, limited color, muted colors, vivid colors, color outlines, and more. I find joy in combining different styles and subject material to make new ideas that are aesthetic and cohesive. I also specialize in covering up or reworking old tattoos and I also offer scar cover ups. I’ve worked very hard to develop a style of my own that works well with whatever I work on and will remain beautiful even as the skin ages. With tattoos I focus most on technical skills and creative thinking, because if those are taken care of everything else comes into place. I see all of my skills reflected in my work. So it’s an honor to regularly hear stories of my clients recognizing each other by my artwork in passing or clients choosing me from a recommendation they received in passing. Even with that I am still very committed to growing and evolving my technical skills and creative thinking.
One thing I feel like I run into a lot, with custom tattoos, is that clients have somehow come to believe that their artwork is supposed to be drawn up and ready to tattoo when they come in. In my experience I’ve had to explain to many clients that that concept is what flash tattoos are, but that the design they are asking for is a custom tattoo and not a flash tattoo. Then I proceed to explain that my design process for designing custom tattoos is a bit different as a private tattoo artist and included as part of the quote they received for their custom tattoo. Also I feel that making the best custom tattoo for my clients is by drawing it with them present in person, like a collaboration so I have all the input I need. I do this in session, because I feel that my best inspiration and direction comes from asking my client lots of questions to help develop the piece. I do this for nearly every tattoo, with the exception of my personal flash tattoo designs, which I post up on my social media and keep an up to date portfolio of in my studio. My creative process helps me focus on incorporating my core values of communication, autonomy, honesty, authenticity, trust and quality into the services I offer my clients with custom tattoos. I strive to offer my clients a safe and supportive environment to get quality tattoos that help them meet their body goals and provide a great experience in working with a professional tattoo artist. I want my clients to feel empowered and confident in their choices to make long lasting changes to their appearance whether it’s a custom tattoo or a piece of my flash. I’ve received a lot of feedback from clients about this and it is usually one the main reasons they chose to come get tattooed by me in my studio.
While I’m not a mental health professional, a lot of my clients tell me that they find getting tattooed by me to be therapeutic, because our sessions feel like hanging out with a friend that you can talk to about anything. Offering a safe space and being trauma informed to support the members of my community that come and spend hours with me is something I hold near and dear. While artistic talent, technical skills, and proper hygiene practices are all important to being a good tattoo artist. I would say what sets me apart as an artist is a little bit of everything I’ve talked about so far, but mostly incorporating my core values and ethics in all I do.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I’m really proud of the difference that I’ve made in the lives of others with my work and the community I’ve gained from following my dreams. I feel like there is nothing more magical or satisfying in tattooing than seeing joy light up the faces of my clients when we reach the end of a session and they see their completed tattoo. I love seeing clients use tattoos as a way to boost their confidence and as symbolic decorations of self love and how at home they feel in their bodies. I feel like tattooing gives me a sense of purpose that I had always longed for. I really hit my stride and I accomplished all of my big career goals before reaching 30, which I didn’t expect to happen so early in life. I have accomplished all of the big dreams, so now I’m working on creating more. For now my goal is to continue tattooing, continue learning and growing, and honoring the values and beliefs that have gotten me this far. I’m very excited to see where things go from here.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Artists and creatives thrive on support from their community. This relationship isn’t one sided, it’s give and take, and that balance is very important. As an artist, you can’t give your work away, but as a client or customer you can’t expect work for free either. Both sides need to honor that art takes time and that time is valuable. As an artist you have to be prepared to give back to your community just as much as they give you. What has helped me most is the excitement that my clients, friends, acquaintances, even strangers express about my work. I put every bit of that energy back into my art, because being able to pay it forward is part of the balance. All of the people proudly wearing my work, the word of mouth, recommendations, conversations, feedback, clients sharing my information, all of that is so important so that your local artists can keep making work everyone is excited about. The excitement that artists give to their community is valuable, but the excitement that their community gives them is equally as valuable if not more so.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://blacklanterntattooco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blacklanterntattooco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nashvilleblacklanterntattooco
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/auroura/
Image Credits
Mat Brown