We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Keely Thompson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Keely, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Opening my tattoo studio, Lucid Studios Tattoo, was definitely one of the biggest risks I have ever taken.
In 2022 I had the opportunity to open my first Lucid location, It was a small space with room for myself and two other tattoo artists to work with me. This felt like a giant risk for me at the time. I didn’t know how to run my own studio space, how much work went into it, and I didn’t even know how to hire more artists to come work with me. But I was able to do it, I hired two more artists to work with me and soon began dreaming about what it would look like if I pushed it even further. I was in that location for 1 year before I felt like I was ready to take on even more and move to a new and bigger location.
This new location was right across the street, which was the easy part. But this meant I was now renovating and designing my very own building, purchasing everything I needed for this to happen out of pocket, and then hiring even more artists to work with me. I now had room for nine artists. This was an even bigger risk than before. But I stayed true to my vision and I put so much work into making it the best space possible for artists and clients. I planned out every inch of the space to make sure it was the best studio I could create.
Now, one year after opening the newest location I have 9 artists (including myself) and a content creator working at Lucid. It has been so amazing to see it all grow into what it is now, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.
Taking that risk has pushed my creativity and passion to new heights, enabling me to offer other artists a safe and inspiring environment to grow their own businesses and art, while also providing clients with a safe, clean, and beautiful space to get tattooed.
Keely, 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?
Creating something that they will cherish and have for a lifetime is truly incredible.
Growing up, I never imagined that my art would have an impact on others the way it does today. Now, as a tattoo artist, I feel so lucky to be able to be a part of someone’s journey in healing, self acceptance and expression, or to even just adorn their bodies with art
I am deeply grateful to everyone who trusts me to give them a tattoo, in return I put so much energy into everything that I create for them. This includes creating unique original artwork every single time, making sure it flows with their body, and collaborating on ideas to bring their tattoo to the next level, and providing them with a comfortable experience during the tattoo process.
I want everyone who views my work to recognize the effort I invest into my clients and tattoos while also seeing my passion for learning and growing as both an artist and a business owner. I also aspire to motivate other artists to incorporate the same dedication into their work.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Creating for me feels necessary to my own self expression.
It puts me in a flow state like nothing ever has before. Whether that’s tattooing my clients or if I’m at home playing with some paints and a canvas. Expressing myself through art allows me to bring out a part of me that would otherwise remain hidden inside.
It has taught me that I can learn and do hard things if I am persistent and trust myself. I get so excited when I learn a new technique and implement it successfully in my work.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Continued education through seminars and workshops have been an amazing way for me to continue to learn and grow as an artist. Not only have they helped me improve my technical abilities, they have also sparked another level of excitement and passion for art.
By attending these, I have also built friendships and connections with people that have helped me realize that community is such an important part of being a creative.
I have only been attending these events in the last two years but I think continued learning is important for artists at any point in their careers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artworkbykeely.com
- Instagram: @artworkbykeely
- Other: Lucid Studios Tattoo: @lucid.studios.tattoo
Image Credits
@_shot.by.shelby_