Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erin Guerreso. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to draw on paper, walls, tables, and people’s skin. I remember being given a temporary tattoo kit when I was a child in the 90’s, full of sparkly gel pens meant for skin and tribal butterfly stencils. I remember giving out these “tattoos” to my neighborhood friends at the playground. The first time I said “I’m going to be an artist,” I was probably five years old. I never really imagined life outside of art. My family taught me to create, I come from two families with deep artistic heritage. By 15, I had officially set my heart on learning to tattoo, and the rest was history. I was encouraged by a cousin of mine, who was infinitely cool to me and had some of the first tattoos I’d ever seen. Some would definitely say I was too young to fully realize what tattooing is and the history behind it, but it was almost like a calling, a deep inner feeling of “This is it. This is what I am here for.“ I had read about the young boys in the Bowery who would tattoo themselves as young as 10 years old, and all I knew is that at the ripe old age of 15, I had some catching up to do.

Erin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For years before I finally learned tattooing, I drew. I worked overtime in a dive bar, serving pizza and beer to the locals in a city where I was the most alternative person present. I credit the restaurant industry for teaching me to sink or swim, along with fine tuning my ability to provide a service in a professional manner. Despite 60+ hour work weeks, I still spent every second I was not at work drawing for my future, daydreaming, telling myself I would get there, that tattooing would find me when I was ready to do it right.

Then, the pandemic hit. I had just updated my portfolio and started my search for an apprenticeship, yet again. It was at that point that I started to give up. I struggled hard during the shut down, I relapsed on an almost 3 years of sobriety from narcotics, and found myself being picked apart by people I thought were like family to me. If you had asked me then what the end of that year would have looked like for me, I would have said, “I’ll be dead.”

As the world started opening back up later in 2020, I made a spur of the moment appointment for a tattoo at the shop that would ultimately take a chance on me, and completely change my life. That day, with nothing to lose, I would show the folks at Big Cat Tattoo my art. “I’m not asking for an apprenticeship, I just want to know if it’s any good,” fully prepared for rejection. It was good enough for me to get an invitation to come to paint nights, and the rest is history. I never stopped showing up. About six months later, the owner and my dear friend, David Parrish, took a chance on me, and gave me my apprenticeship.

It’s been said by others before, but tattooing has saved my life and taught me so much about who I am and what I stand for. I put my all in to creating tattoos for my clients that show their stories, or to adorn a body that they struggle to love. To get to be an instrument of self love for others is truly a privilege I do not take for granted. Wether it be a silly piece of flash, or a custom tattoo to remind them of someone they’ve loved, I take it seriously, and apply that tattoo with love and intention. My clients are a part of me, they have trusted me to modify them, to become a part of their story. I could never express enough thanks to these individuals who have lifted me up from the very beginning and trusted that I would be the right person to create their tattoo.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I began my apprenticeship in 2020, I was broke and recovering from drug abuse. I began using drugs as a teenager, I was given cocaine for the first time as a 16 year old in a bathroom stall at my first restaurant job by a 30 something coworker. I would chase that high for the next 11 years, finding myself in jail, abusive relationships with partners and friends, and situations that should have taken my life. If you told me at 23 that in six years, I’d have my dream job, make art all day, and have a stable, healthy life around me, I wouldn’t have believed you. I wish I could express fully how tough my life has been, and how I have indeed overcome every obstacle put in my path, but we would need a longer interview for that, and it’s not a very happy story. I believe that no matter how impossible one’s circumstances are, if you have the determination, discipline, and listen to your gut, you have the power to make anything you want happen.

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

The most rewarding aspect of tattooing is the magic of seeing my client’s reaction in the mirror. I have been given the privilege of adorning human bodies permanently, to aid people on their own journeys of self love. How could I ask for anything more than knowing I’m helping to put a little more love in to the world?

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @badmouthtattoo

Image Credits
All images were taken by Erin Guerreso