We recently connected with Kendra Seawright and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kendra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’ve been tattooing since 2015. Early on, while speaking with clients during tattoo sessions, I was hearing a pattern in stories of tattooers in my city that had taken advantage of their trust and bodies. They would go in for a tattoo, usually their first experiences in a shop, and were being told to undress excessively or offered a discount for tattoos in exchange for sexual favors. The stories I was told were usually from or about young women and about the same 2 or 3 shops.
I didn’t have a lot of influence because I was new to the industry. I didn’t know who to go to for help.
For years, those shops continued to be busy and successful, one even earning an interview on a local news station about how cool tattoos are. Nothing was changing.
I had already started working with an organization to cover up tattoos for domestic abuse survivors, when I decided to ask if they had any way to we could start doing work to raise awareness of sexual assault and abuse in tattoo studios and hopefully prevent these situations.
They set me up with a small group of volunteers to start Your Body, Your Tattoo (@yourbody_yourtattoo) on Instagram.
I now create content for this page that informs clients of behavior that’s common in predators, what to wear to appointments that helps keep you covered, and plans of action if anything does happen during a tattoo. It’s led to a lot of clients feeling more validated and get help when they needed it. A lot of artists follow from different countries who want to improve the professional standard of tattoo studios.
Tattooing, piercing, body art should be a fun experience for self expression, but it can be easily soured, or even traumatizing, when tattooers are taking advantage of their clients trust and bodies.

Kendra, 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?

While I had been practicing different mediums of art since elementary, I did not know tattooing was a potential career for me until I went to a tattoo convention in Oklahoma in 2014. I worked at the booth for the artist that was tattooing me, answering questions for potential clients and helping them get scheduled.
That weekend, I saw so many styles of art on tables from people that were passionate about self expression. The energy was high and full of people there to celebrate creativity and toughness. Live music blasted in the background of clients showing off their freshly wrapped body art, so confident. It was so lively, I just wanted to belong to that life.
I broken heartedly went back to my retail job and just day dreamed about that feeling.
It really took several bad weeks in a row at my job before my partner said, “Just go get an apprenticeship. We’ll figure it out!” So I quit my job and started my apprenticeship while bartending overnights.
I’ve now been tattooing for 8 years, and own my own tattoo shop called Sweet Needles Tattoo Studio in Amarillo, Texas. I wanted a space where anyone could come in and be wholly themselves and not feel judged or shamed in any way and feel safe no matter the tattoo placement.
I have a side project that I’m very passionate about called Your Body, Your Tattoo. I also donate tattoos for domestic abuse survivors to cover up their abuser’s tattoos. I love using this skill set to help others.
Oh, and I still get butterflies in my stomach when I attend tattoo conventions, even the ones I’m not tattooing at. All the hard work to get to this point has been worth it. I’m so grateful for all the connections I’ve made with clients, hearing their stories, and networking with other artists and organizations.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn judging tattoo ideas. That sounds awful, I know, but if every day in your work environment, the people around you bash small tattoos or feminine tattoos or the popular label “Pinterest” tattoos, it’s easy to pick up that mindset.
It would be easy to complain, “oh another small tattoo! I wanna do something cool!!” But the solution, it turns out, wasn’t actually to wait for “cooler” tattoo ideas to walk thru the door. It was designing and marketing new ideas and letting clients know that these are also options!
I learned to say, “I see your idea, but how would you feel if we made a more original version of this for you?” Majority of the time, I got to do something new and the client was proud to wear our collaborated idea!

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

I think it’s easy to see someone be successful in art, or hair and make up, photography, really anything creative, and just think “Anyone can do that” without taking the time to see the resources a creative has to dig into before their success. Even if you’re naturally talented at something, you still have to find the best tools for the job and practice with that. You still have to find the money, time, and energy to create something new and interesting that also aligns with your goals and character.
Especially considering the creatives that work for themselves or a small group, work follows you into your personal life.
Branding is hard. Marketing is consuming. Burnout is real.
Balancing your creative freedom with bending to client needs can sometimes feel like you’re being boxed in, which can kill the inspiration you came in with.
Creativity itself requires practice, and is hard to make your whole job.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.superksoul.com
• Instagram: @superksoul