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

Hi Cal, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I started learning to draw different tattoo styles when i was 14. junior-senior year of high school is when i worked the most on my portfolio. i would draw for hours and hours a day, before i started tattooing i talked to a lot of tattoo artists and asked for portfolio reviews. this allowed me to make connections and learn what i was doing right, and what things i could improve on. it sort of allowed me to get my foot in the door, which was very encouraging. my favorite materials to work with were colored pencils, i always sketch in colored pencil and work in pen so i can’t erase. i would draw from art books, put random words in a hat, pick them out, and combine them. i made a rule to sit at my drawing desk at least once a day, even if i didn’t know what to draw. and i burnt out a lot. burnout is something i have always struggled with, it’s an obstacle that i have to frequently overcome. i struggled for a while with not having an artistic voice, and feeling like i had nothing to say. sometimes i think ill never find inspiration again, until i detach from my art and let it find me. i think a lot of newer artists don’t realize how harmful it can be to force yourself to make art everyday. that’s why it’s good to take a step back sometimes.

Cal, 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 cal, i am 19, i am a tattoo artist, and i’ve been tattooing for a little over a year. i love cool art, i love drawing what’s in my brain, and i love tattooing. having this opportunity at such a young age has been super crazy and i’m super grateful. having the platform to put my art into the world, and be part of such a huge community, has been everything i could ask for! there’s been some bumps in the road, and plenty of obstacles i’ve had to overcome, but so far it’s been worth it. i love being able to provide a safe space for people, and work out a design that feels like them. it’s top priority when i’m designing a tattoo. as someone who is gender queer i understand how important it is to feel safe in your skin. i believe tattoos can be very affirming, its my favorite when i’m able to bring someone’s vision to life. that being said, i absolutely love making flash and i’m always putting out new stuff. i will always be happy to tattoo my flash for a good price. tattooing my flash is by far my favorite part of the job. i love doing fine line, black and grey, textural work, but i also love a good bold traditional color piece. my art tends to change with the seasons, maybe i’ll settle on a style someday. my main staple is probably texture, if you like weird textural things you’ll probably like my work!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

my client base grew exponentially when i moved to a walk in tattoo shop. that means it’s a tattoo shop that takes walk ins, all the time. where as a private studio setting may never take walk ins. working in this sort of environment has given me the opportunity to build on my social skills, which i struggled with being a fresh adult. while building my client base, as well as becoming a better tattoo artist and artist. you kind of have to take whatever walks in the door, and work with it, giving client the best experience possible. making business cards definitely helped, after i do each tattoo i offer a one time free touch up and i give the client my card. overall building my client base has been a slow process, but overall a very rewarding experience! social media has been helpful with getting my art out there and finding community.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

there’s still a stigma against tattoos. there’s still a belief that tattoo shops are rough and the artists are scary, and that it’s a super crazy job, when that’s not the reality most of the time. tattooing has a very rich history, and for like, a really long time it’s been part of humanity. tattoos are cool and awesome. and for most of the tattoo artists out there it’s more than just a job. it’s how a lot of us pay our bills, but i think it also takes a lot of love and passion to really make it work and keep people coming back. it takes a lot of sacrifice. it cuts into your personal time, and your social life, and just about every other aspect of your life too lol. i don’t care as much about the monetary gain as much, or how cool it makes me look, i just like making sick tattoos, meeting cool people, and getting my art out there!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: calchemical