We were lucky to catch up with Caitlyn Campbell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Caitlyn , 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.

Most tattoo artists start off with an apprenticeship. At the time, I was halfway through a BFA at Watkins College of Art and Design and just finished portfolio review for the semester That same day, I packed up my portfolio and headed to Golden Yeti Art Collective that had just opened a couple of months prior. I showed the owner, Jeff, my portfolio and 30 mins later I got my Blood Bourne Pathogens certification and started learning all the cleaning protocols. For the first few months, I focused on cleaning, observing and drawing. I did my first tattoo on myself a few months later of a cardinal. It’s been almost 10 years since I’ve done that cardinal, I’ve learned so much within those years and I’m continuing to learn and progress. Tattooing is like any craft, there’s always room for improvement no matter how long you’ve been doing it. The industry is always changing, whether it’s the products or technology, something is continually advancing the craft.
Knowing what I know now, I would tell my younger self to take better care of herself. I didn’t know it then, but I was dealing with undiagnosed complex PTSD so I was in a constant state of survival. That was my normal, so I just thought everyone was like that. If you know anything about nervous system dysfunction, then you know that it’s hard to fully absorb and learn anything because part of you is elsewhere trying to keep you safe. It got to a point where I was forced to get help, and that forever changed my life. It took years of trauma therapy to gain enough skills so I didn’t have to live in survival mode, but since that point, my art has progressed substantially. Healing from cptsd is a life long journey, so I believe as I keep doing that work, my tattoos will also continue to benefit, as well everything in my life.
For most creatives, ourselves are our greatest obstacle. Whether it’s mental illness, lack of confidence, overly critical etc… these hinder our progress. There’s a difference between being self aware and self destructive. If we can shift the destructiveness into awareness, then I think we would be able to learn more without shame or hurt egos. My goal is to be more curious and less judgmental towards myself.

Caitlyn , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Caitlyn Campbell. I am originally from Kentucky, but moved to Nashville in 2012 for art school. I started tattooing about 10 years ago in Franklin, TN at Golden Yeti Art Collective.
My tattoo style would be more of a neon Dark surrealism, but I also do color realism. I love working with clients to give them the most unique and custom design specific to them. I always try to turn a simple design into something we both love. My goal is to compete with myself by trying to make each tattoo better than my last. I’m also surrounded by talented friends and peers who push each other to progress.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love giving people more confidence in themselves. Connecting with people and providing a safe space to be themselves is very important to me.
When I was younger, I started getting tattoos on my legs so I would have the confidence to wear shorts. My goal now is to support my clients in any way to help them feel more comfortable in their skin while also showing them that they are beautiful with or without tattoos. So now it shifts from hiding behind the tattoos, to celebrating their skin with art.

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

Right now, we are in a confusing era due to AI. There may be some benefits to AI, but theres far more negatives. There’s some fun things we can do with it that we’d never pay for a professional to do ( like turn ourselves into an animal) but I’ve seen so many people use AI for things that used to call for an actual human like album artwork and graphic design. Creative jobs are in danger, because we live in a fast society that wants things perfect and instant. In my opinion, AI has turned art into a worse version of capitalism. The industry was upset when Warhol created a mass production art with assembly lines, AI is an infinite version of that. I’m not saying don’t use it, but if you’re thinking of getting your loved one a thoughtful piece of art for their birthday, please commission a human artist for it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: _spacezombie
• Other: Email- [email protected]

Image Credits

Danielle Wright