We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nadia Garver a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nadia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Earning a full-time living in a creative career is accepting that my life is not going to look like everyone else’s. My passion and love for what I do really carries me, as I often look around and feel that many moments and relationships pass me by, simply because of the demanding nature of my job. I believe there is a lot of misunderstanding, when it comes to being a full-time creative. Creativity comes in waves, and you have to make time for the burnout and processing, otherwise you will continue pouring from an empty cup. It can be very challenging to explain that to your loved ones as they do not always understand that your creativity calls for its own rhythm.
There’s a lot of sacrifices that you have to make behind the curtain, that are not part of the show. Specifically, as a tattooer, you don’t realize how deeply you can connect with people. That had to be one of the hardest challenges that I was unconscious to for so long; is knowing where you end, and the client begins. I was 18 years old when I started my career, I had no idea what I signed up for.
None of us are exempt from that battle of balance. Some days I feel put under a microscope and others I feel that the world is vast and full of wonder. The lonely and the loving. Electric and the atomic decay. The ebb and flow of the alchemical process that we weave as passionate, creators.

Nadia, 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?

I treat tattooing and my personal artwork with similar structures; compassion, empowerment and expression. A lot of what I do is based around creating a custom experience for each person or timeline. My favorite part about what I do is that I get to meet people in a creative, yet vulnerable space. There is something very special about learning how to handle each person differently. To me, that is one of the highest forms of love when I am involved with my job. Clients will come to me with something special that they want to have captured and I get to make this thing for them that holds a moment for the rest of their lives. Those are the moments when the world feels small and connected.
As for my personal art, it is always a great comfort when I find others resonating with my creations.
So much of my art comes from processing emotions or moments that feel larger than life. I see how the transcriptions act as a cleansing tool for knowledge and growth.
I try to bring that experience to anyone that is open to it.

Most of my inspiration comes from nature, occult and alchemical influences with a hint of nostalgia. I strongly believe that we are on a perpetual path of learning and growing as individuals. I hope that what I have to offer, has the capacity to make people’s lives a little brighter. I know that I am forever amazed with the knowledge and learning lessons that my clients provide me with.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

There are so many ways to answer that question. I will start by saying that some of the hardest lessons I have had to unlearn have been rooted in thought process, worthiness, and trust. It is easy to downplay yourself and sell yourself short when you are surrounded by the wrong group. Artistic careers can be a gray area where I often witness people downplay myself, as well as other artists through backhanded compliments.
There were many times in my career that I felt discouraged, and unworthy of how I make my living. Growing up in an environment where people glorify survival with a “chip on your shoulder” mentality, makes it hard to bask in the joy of what you have to bring to the world. That doesn’t have to be you.
I am glad that I never gave up, and pushed myself to this point. If I listened to every single person along the way, I would have never been able to pursue an artistic career.
As for the trust, it is so important to trust that things will work out. The irony of me saying that, lies in the fact that there has been many times that I did not believe that. That’s the cool thing about hind sight.
Trust is a double edged sword. Trusting people in my career has saved my life when taking the risks that I needed to take. However, trusting people in my career has also come at a cost. There is a time to lean in and lead with your heart. Then there is a time to realize that you may be taken advantage of, exploited, or unappreciated. Don’t forget that you pursue a path for yourself because there are many times that people fall to the wayside. I can’t stress enough how important it is to find the right community and outlets you need, especially if you are entering a gender dominated industry such as tattooing.
Being raised in a male dominated industry has given me so many tools to work with, but has also come at the cost of rebuilding myself as a person as I grow into a more loving version of myself.
You’re allowed to break patterns. Infact, I dare you.
I never follow the instructions on my shampoo bottles, but my advice is “Rinse, Lather and Repeat.” It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time.
Last but not least, you are not supposed to be a machine. You are allowed to rest. Being projectless is an important part of the process.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I grew up in a small, blue collar, hunting and fishing town that is a giant swamp. Known as Ira, Michigan. Hence the name “bogwitch” that a lot of my art pages go by. I was born and raised in a place that emphasizes hard work and self reliance, which can be quite the challenge when you are the “art kid.” Painting has been a part of my life ever since I could use my hands. My great aunt taught me just about everything that I knew up until I attended less than one year in college.
I wanted to be an art teacher, yet school did not work out for me due to fiery circumstances. I lost a lot of my life in a car fire while working my pizza delivery job.
I took that as a sign and leaned all of my weight into tattooing. (That was when I wasn’t smoking cigarettes, or getting my heartbroken.) I had rent to pay along with big emotions I needed to bury into projects.
At the time, no one wanted to take an 18-year-old girl seriously, when it came to a tattoo apprenticeship. I remember going shop to shop with a handmade portfolio and facing rejection over again. I finally found a studio that would become my home for 3 years. When I say home, I quite literally mean that. Money was so tight, I could hardly feed myself. (My pizza job really came in clutch) I was getting paid well below industry standard and had no idea until I made some tattooer friends from other studios. It wasn’t until I was invited to work at Independent Tattoo in Sterling Heights, Michigan that I was granted more freedom and space to begin growing into my own person.

I then realized the transformative kind of magic that tattooing and art, had to offer. Whether it is grieving important people, grieving yourself, protecting those you love or just staying above water- that inner fire, later carried me through many other periods of my life where I needed resilience.
Also, celebrating the helping hands and loving hearts along the way. There are so many people who played a role and I hope you know how much I appreciate you.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.bogwitchart.com
• Instagram: @Bogwitchz_