We recently connected with Sarah Rafferty “penguin” and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
The path to becoming a professional tattoo artist wasn’t quick or easy for me. At the age of 21 I had started my first tattoo apprenticeship after graduating from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. This was a truly humbling experience. I learned how to build a coil tattoo machine, solder needles and run the autoclave in-between drawing and cleaning. I was learning skills but it wasn’t a perfect place. I was around crime, drugs and misogyny. So, when I became pregnant with my oldest son, I had to leave. One unfinished apprenticeship loomed over me for the next decade.
The recession hit hard in 2007. It was time to take any job I could get. For nearly 10 years I worked in merchandising, sales, marketing and graphic design and always thought that I would never get another chance to become a tattoo artist until one day, I did.
When I turned 30 my whole life was flipped upside down, I lost my job, totaled my car, was going through divorce. I needed big change and an opportunity. A friend from Roller Derby was married to a tattoo artist who was opening a shop in Auburn, CA. I went to him determined to get another apprenticeship and I did.
What I didn’t realize was all my years of graphic design, customer service, sales and marketing as well as art and design classes helped me become the tattoo artist I could never be a decade before. With the guidance of my mentor, Shane Hanson, as well as other helpful artists, and over 180 willing volunteers, I finished my apprenticeship in a little over a year and started working professionally in 2018.
I will always keep learning, take classes and work hard. I am humbled by my journey and it made me appreciate my art form and my profession that much more.
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’m a second generation Filipino American from Sacramento, CA. I’m a mom of 2 boys, a pug lover and have been an artist and creator as long as I can remember. I have loved tattoos ever since I learned about the tattooed lady in the circus and fell in love with tattoos again when I learned about Filipino Cultural Tattooing. I became a professional tattoo artist in my 30’s and have been in the industry for about 7 years.
I create tattoo designs that help people celebrate their bodies, often with large-scale colorful renditions of childhood nostalgia, cartoons, video game characters, plants, animals, flowers both realistic and illustrative. From SpongeBob to Pokemon customers can have bright colorful renditions of their favorite characters with them forever. Customers that love plants and animals can have beautiful colorful images adorned in a flowing organic design.
My semi-private spot in Utopia Tattoo Shop is location in beautiful Auburn, CA. You can have a calm and relaxing experience, surrounded by plants and art. Let’s take stretch breaks, have snacks and sit comfortably.
The earth is important to me so I use earth friendly supplies. I care about people’s skin so I use a softer slower method that heals with as little trauma as possible while retaining ink in the skin. Tattoos hurt but I try and make people as comfortable as possible by giving clients snacks, pillows and aftercare products to take home. Tattooing can be a better more nurturing environment and I’m here to try and provide that for my clients.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
There are a few books that have changed my view on business as a creative. First, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I can read this book over and over and take away something new every time. I read this book in a Psychology of Creativity class in college and it takes you through weekly and daily tasks that help you learn consistency and creativity in your practice and so much more.
A book that helps me every time I feel stuck professionally, is The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. This book can help you decide to take the leap to become something bigger than what you think is even possible by identifying upper limit problems, and resolving them. A must for creatives, business owners and anyone who wants to level-up in life.
Thirdly, Chill and Prosper by Denise Duffield-Thomas is a wonderful read, about money mindset and getting out of scarcity mindset. It’s woman-focused but can help any person. She has classes and information all over the internet that people can use to help reach their income goals.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
When I first started as a tattoo artist I hated flowers. I created some seriously ugly flowers but after I continued to learn and study I found that I preferred a more realistic version of flowers over traditional versions. I knew people loved flowers and it took a few years to find a style of them that I was happy with. At the same time it took a long time for my skill level to progress enough to become proficient in that style. I just kept drawing them. Over and over and over. Sometimes, as artists, and humans, we avoid imagery that we find irritating and we don’t progress in our art. If it’s important to your craft, keep trying. Keep pushing and keep learning.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.tattoosbypenguin.com
- Instagram: @tattoosbypenguin
- Facebook: Tattoos by Penguin
