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

Alright, Meagan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was always interested in perusing a career in the arts as far back as I can remember- I have always been a creative since childhood, and ended up attending a specialized High School in Queens, NY called Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, where I majored in fine arts. I was flirting with the idea of being a tattooer for most of my attending high school- I would collect tattoo magazines and try to emulate the designs from there. I got my first tattoo on my 17th birthday- and from that moment, my first real experience sitting in a tattoo shop- I knew this was exactly where I wanted to be. Before I graduated high school, I had gone to a family party and one of my aunt’s neighborhood friends approached me and asked what I wanted to do after graduation and what career I was interested in pursuing- I told her I wanted to be a tattoo artist… which, to my surprise, was not as well received as I thought- she scoffed a snooty scoff, and asked if I was joking. The look on my face said it all- she replied “oh you’re actually serious! That’s adorable” and proceeded to laugh in my face. At that exact moment, I thought to myself- “I’ll show her” and have kind of made it my mission to be a successful tattooer, partly out of pure spite. Obviously, mixed with underlying love and admiration for the tattoo industry and the artistry. But believe it or not- SPITE is a very effective motivator. So we’ll include that in my origin story.

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.

I grew up in Queens, NY in a working class, blue collar family. Being a hard worker has always been instilled in me. I am also a bit of a perfectionist, to a fault- I can certainly be way too hard on myself, sometimes to the point of it being unhealthy. However, this drive has aided in such a way that it reflects in my art and tattooing. Being that tattoos are permanent, and definitely not cheap- you want your client to go home with something they are happy with, something that is going to age on their skin well- is executed with precision and a level of care and expertise. I pride myself in not only clean lines, solid color and smooth shading- equally as important in this industry is bedside manner. Ensuring your client is comfortable, providing excellent conversation, paying close attention to them and their specific needs- just making sure they are having the most top notch experience- is one of my top priorities. “Ya need some water? Did you eat? If ya need any breaks, let me know”. It’s so simple. Trust between tattooer and client is a must. Sometimes I feel like that is absolutely an overlooked art form. At the end of the day, if my client doesn’t leave my chair grinning from ear to ear, I didn’t do my job. The shop I work at “Grandview Tattoo” in Ridgewood, Queens- has a saying- “come as a stranger, leave as a friend”, and I believe wholeheartedly in that mindset.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a tattooer, without a shadow of a doubt, is helping people. Everyone gets tattooed for their own varying reasons. Sometimes it’s to celebrate a special occasion or life event, a birthday or having reached a milestone in their lives. Sometimes you are tattooing someone in mourning; they lost someone and want to memorialize their loved one. Some people have “just had a terrible day” and sit in the chair and get a tattoo just because it’ll cheer them up. At the end of the day, we are celebrating life; we can be “stand-in therapists”, and freinds, sharing unforgettable stories back and forth across a message table, talking art, healing and enjoying company. And helping everyone’s vision of what they want their bodies to look like, come to life. Honestly, nothing beats it.

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

I am a mommy to 3 beautiful and amazing children. Being a mom is honestly one of the most amazing things I have ever done with myself. About 3 and a half years ago, I packed up myself and my kids, and left an incredibly dangerous, controlling and abusive marriage. I’ll spare the gruesome details- but at that point, it was a life or death situation and I needed to get out of there with haste. It was by far the scariest thing I have ever done; it was risky to even make the decision I made; but the way I saw it, I didn’t have very many options left. Being a single mom, healing myself and going to therapy, working, tattooing and providing for my kids, has been no small task. Every day I strive to be the best version of myself that I can be- some days are harder than others. I have C-PTSD from the many years of abuse, and have done LOTS of hard and uncomfortable work to get on the other side of some of the more atrocious symptoms of that. Believe it or not- leaving the abusive relationship, experiencing the scariest night of my life; reflecting on that has opened my eyes to realizing my value as a human, what behaviors I am no longer willing to tolerate, and setting healthy boundaries. I have a newfound appreciation for life, for my freedom. I have been told my positivity (given my past life events) and resilience to come out on the other side, a stronger and happier person- is inspiring others to want to leave their own abusive relationships. I have even had other friends of mine reach out to me privately after I have spoke publicly on my social media of the horrors I have lived through and my “escape story”- and was asked for resources and advice on how to get out. I just want to say quickly here- there is NEVER “no way out”. The women that have messaged me asking for help- they are some of the strongest and bravest women I know- and to be completely honest, I did not see my own strength and bravery for escaping, UNTIL I started helping these other women. It was an incredible realization, and being surrounded by and associated with such amazing, beautiful and strong friends- having that support, and supporting them in return, it’s just made me feel like I’ve lead such a fulfilling life, even in light of the other horrible circumstances. We can survive just about anything with the right love and compassion from others. Which, in turn has made me an extremely strong artist in the tattoo industry; my patience is unprecedented. If I’ve seen the darkest things in this life, I can quite literally handle just about anything that is thrown at me- which is a massive part of tattooing, being able to think on your feet and go with the flow- no matter how hard it seems.

Contact Info:

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