We recently connected with Elyse House and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elyse, thanks for joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

In my line of work, it makes sense to have tattoos all over my body, even on my face, but out in the “normal world,” people can make their judgements and assumptions about you, and until recently has it become more of a balance between society believing tattoos are cool, and alternatively that tattoos mean you are a criminal. I’ve heard some crazy things myself, especially considering that I’m a woman.

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

I am a 27 year old tattoo artist and owner of The Looking Glass Tattoo Studio. I have been tattooing for roughly 6 years, and in recent years have been focusing on large-scale projects, with a keen desire to accentuate the body’s muscles and curves in order to highlight the beauty one should see in themselves every day that they already possess.

Over the years I have also begun to offer astrological birth chart readings for those looking for guidance on their self awareness journey, and hopefully said reading & tattoo will lead the client down the road of self love. My goal is for everyone to love themselves, because that will help everyone love each other in return.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I find that self-expression keeps the body and mind youthful, alive and imaginative. Tattooing and owning a woman-based shop makes it easier to help those looking to express who they are, be it a client or a fellow artist. One tattoo at a time, I aim to aid the collective of tattoo artists looking to change the way the industry is looked at, and help those look in the mirror and see their outside appearance reflect how they feel on the inside.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

For anyone who thinks “it must be nice,” it is. Creatives struggle every day with the inner turmoil of imposter syndrome, or wondering how to push the envelope, or where the bill money is going to come from in the pursuit of happiness to do what we love. Non-creatives do not have that need to “make,” and life can be easier that way, because as a creative there is nothing so hard to try to go through a job or schooling when all you want to do is paint or sculpt or build or simply dream. We are always thinking of something. We are always looking at the sunset and thinking of the beauty in it and how to recreate it. We are always trying to capture the essence of an emotion.

Contact Info:

• Website: elysehouse.com / tlgtattoos.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/elysetattoos
• Facebook: facebook.com/elysesummerhouse
• Other: instagram.com/tlgtattoostudio