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

Kseniia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Probably this question is a sore subject for everyone who work for themselves creating any product. Of course, there is no definite answer, there are days when you are happy creating a cool project, and there are days when you are disappointed in yourself and in your abilities.

In short, I would say that my job is a dream job. Absolutely. There are some nuances that I’m working on, but overall, I don’t see myself doing anything else.

I have to say that when you work for yourself, you work 24/7. At a regular job your schedule is ( usually ) rationed and when you go home you come to rest and do only your life. When you work for yourself, you are always at work, to tell you the truth, in 10+ years of practice I have never been able to work out a schedule, and because of this I often burn out and ruin my life. Getting your schedule right, balancing work, training and rest is one of the key things that will help you succeed. I hope in the near future I will work on this issue and then my job will be a dream job for sure!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My journey in the tattoo industry began in 2013. But I started drawing much earlier. I graduated from an art school in my hometown, but after that I decided to get a higher education in economics.

In parallel, when I was studying I took part in small local exhibitions, drew to order on clothes and various objects. Fate brought me together by chance with another tattoo artist from my city. He saw my portfolio and wanted to teach me the craft of tattooing. I began to undergo training, but could not finish it because I was still studying at the university and could not devote all the time to it and this artist was looking for in my person not only an artist but also a studio assistant. So our paths diverged. But I decided not to give up, and to continue learning on my own. Unfortunately at that time there was no one training and artists shared their knowledge very reluctantly. After half a year of self-study, I ordered my first equipment and started making tattoos :) By the end of my university studies I already had my own tattoo studio.

My path of development has developed in such a way that I did not stop at one style, and studied all at the same time. In the tattoo world it is not considered something good, because if you develop in one direction, you can do it perfectly. It’s not possible to learn to do all styles well. That’s partly true. But my practice shows that it is possible. My path is difficult, it is not so easy for me to advertise myself and maybe I will never reach the heights as top artists working in one style, but I do not regret anything. At the moment I can do tattoos in such styles as color and black and white realism, fine line, graphics, watercolor. For me there is no problem to combine these styles with each other.

At the moment I like to make designs of any characters or creatures, combining graphics and realistic style. Maybe in the future I will stop only on this direction, time will tell :)

My main feature is that I do not try to project my art on the skin of the client . I have nothing to impose on the client, as I can cope with any task. So in essence it’s the client’s creativity, his request, passing through the prism of my experience, gets on his skin. I can say that I act as a tool. I don’t know if it’s good or not, but for now it’s just the way it is.

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

I don’t know how much it’s about my resilience, but I don’t think I would have become who I am without it. When I first started out as a tattoo artist I had very little information about what to do and how to do it. No one wanted to teach me, and all I had was scant knowledge from the Internet. My first clients were acquaintances from university or friends of friends. And little by little, when I had a small portfolio, people started to find me and ask me if I could do what they wanted. And often it was more complicated than I could do. But I made a rule for myself to “take any project, and do not refuse any opportunity”. I was very scared because each time it was more and more difficult for me, but that’s what allowed me to learn new things. Yes, it definitely takes you out of your comfort zone, but when you don’t give yourself a choice, you have no choice but to move forward.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I started my apprenticeship no one shared much information and I stopped asking other artists and just went my own way. But recently I made a discovery that in 10 years society has changed a lot and many people are ready to give you an answer if you just ask. So don’t hesitate to just ask people if you have any questions. Even if they are very popular.

Also my experience is that the best thing you can do if you want to get answers to your questions is to just buy his time . This is the shortest and most convenient way to get information .

Contact Info:

• Website: https://taplink.cc/xenia_tat?fbclid=PAAaZTW37oECshyTjCzqyaU8JHYQfRbrbuAh8EBq7tawQEzb_TyLURC2WcnKk_aem_ARtM7the3Eh2RhZlLTJHDq1AMqdRNYI8_7ha9li9u543Ir1oa0aZ8dpVSq2aaorxCjo
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