We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenna Mans. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenna below.
Jenna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
After graduating from college at the University of San Francisco, I was, like many other young twenty-somethings, at the edge of opportunity with so many possible roads to walk ahead of me. I had worked in Graphic Design for a few months and became quite restless. Feeling unfulfilled, and decided to look elsewhere. I remember sitting outside on a hot September morning having a coffee and conversation with my dad where he said to me, “At some point you just have to chose what you want to do… and from there, you make it happen”. The notion that I had it in me to create the life I wanted for myself was instilled by my parents. They always taught me to chase my dreams. Whether that meant traveling the world, or pursing a career in art, the faith they had in me to succeed built my own confidence to do so. I knew from a young age I was capable and I had the power to write my own story because of the love and support they provided me.
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 had an affinity for art and tattooing from a young age. It was something I always wanted to do. There was an elusive allure that attracted me to museums, street art, poetry, painters, graphic design and eventually the tattoo shop. While studying fine arts in San Francisco, I worked mostly with acrylic painting, graphite drawing, and digital art prior to ever stepping foot into the tattoo shop I work at now. When I moved back to Arizona I was given the opportunity to learn the craft from my mentor Mark Walters. A traditional Japanese artist and owner of Living Canvas Tattoos who opened my eyes to just how amazing a tattoo could be. I have endless gratitude to him for believing in me and investing in my career.
I mostly focus on fineline black and grey tattoos with the occasional traditional piece. I have such an open and vast appreciation for different styles of art, so I tend to play around with many different styles myself. I love capturing natural subject matter with an abstract twist. Things like flowers, eyes, fruits, and animals. I have a huge love for the fine arts, so I also love incorporating statues, historical paintings, and poetry into my work.
The tattoo industry can be a little nerve wracking for some people. I remember getting my very first tattoo with my cousin at a street shop in Barcelona. I didn’t speak the language well and communicating with the artist took quite awhile. Despite the heavy metal blasting my ears and fears, I was so excited and left with an homage to my favorite artist at the time, Pablo Picasso. From the start of my career I’ve made comfortability and communication a top priority for my clients. I always try my best to really listen and understand when it comes to designing a piece for a client. I don’t undermine the nerves associated with the process. I try and make sure clients know it’s okay to speak up if they need a design or placement change, or a break during the process itself. At the end of the day, the artwork I make is for them and it’s about creating a safe, fun, collaborative environment.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
In the start of my artistic career I was pretty private about it. Sometimes I would spend weeks working on a a full sized portrait and feel really proud of it, then throw it away. I felt paralyzed by perfectionism. I really enjoyed what I was doing, but I was super critical of myself as well. It took a lot of uncomfortable hours to finally get to a place where sharing my artwork wasn’t so scary.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
When I was younger, I thought that being an artist was a very lonesome journey. I didn’t know may other creatives and therefore didn’t know the beauty of collaboration. Becoming a better artist goes beyond practice and dedication. I think having friends and mentors around you is the most valuable resource you can have to grow into yourself. As I got more serious about my artistic journey I developed these types of inspiring relationships that I could trust to advise me and it changed me for the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://livingcanvastattoos.com
- Instagram: mansyink
Image Credits
Hayley Rae Farrer