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

Hi Sierra, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Choosing the most meaningful project is such a difficult task. Tattooing has continually brought clients to me that were seeking to get a tattoo as part of their healing journey. One of the most meaningful tattoos I have had the honor of making was a mastectomy scar coverup for the most wonderful woman. I will never forget how nervous she was when she arrived, with a friend as emotional support. During her consultation she shared her story of being diagnosed with breast cancer, and the path to her recovery. We cried, we laughed, and when she left she told me she was no longer nervous to work with me.

She was still in the process of healing from her reconstruction surgery, so we started with a half sleeve, that would later be extended to cover the scar tissue on her right breast. I clearly remember her telling me that she didn’t feel like that breast was a part of her. She was completely detached from it. We built a really special relationship over the process of her half sleeve. She told me multiple times she felt like we had met before or that we were supposed to meet each other. The connection we shared was deep. By the time we got to designing the rest of her tattoo, she trusted me so much with the process and really let me follow my intuition in creating this design for her.

I can’t even begin to tell you how incredible it was to watch her look at the finished work. She felt beautiful again and was so proud to reclaim that part of herself. I’m fairly sure that I cried more than she did in that final moment. I knew tattoos were a powerful form of art, but this moment really solidified my belief that art can heal people and that is why I have found this craft.

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.

A month after I turned 17, I moved to Seattle from just outside of a town of 800 people in northern Nevada. I needed a city with music and art and culture and couldn’t wait to get out of there. I went to The Art Institute of Seattle and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and Animation. I met my husband there, and had decided by my 3rd year that I didn’t actually have any interest in working in that field. Upon graduating I took a job(like many other AIS students) at Google Maps. I later ventured over to a contract position at Amazon, where I was working myself so hard to try to get hired on as a program manager for my current team. I had it in the bag, I just had to get through the big round of interviews. Then my husband asked me a question:

“Why are you interviewing for this job.”

Uh duh, money, stocks, insurance, and really all the things that keep anyone at Amazon, working too hard for what they earn. Then he reminded me that we get that through is work and he asked me some more questions:

“Are you happy there? Didn’t you move to Seattle to become an artist?”

Wow. That series of questions changed my life. He convinced me that week to quit my job and pursue a new path to find out how I was going to become a professional artist. After 3 months attempting to paint at home with no inspiration, I reached out to a good friend who owned his own shop. Justin Johnson at Seattle Ink & Oil took me under his wing and I became a tattooer and worked at his shop for 7 years. In the meantime I had 2 children with my wonderful husband and really struggled to find my balance for awhile, but I got there.

In July of 2021 I made the leap to open my own shop. I needed something new and I really wanted to control the vibe of my workplace. Inkberry Tattoo has been such a great move for me. Since I opened my shop I have changed so much and really found myself in this career. Through a wild amount of beautiful occurrences I have found myself really leaning into my spirituality and finding that I am supposed to be tattooing, and I am here to connect with people on a deeper level. I’m here help them in their healing journey. I’m putting it out into the universe that I am here to give tattoos to people that need them to get through something, reclaim themselves, mark a time in their life, or memorialize those special people who have passed on.

This kind of tattooing is picking up in popularity around the world and I am so happy to be a part of this. Tattooing has held a powerful spiritual importance throughout history and I am so grateful to have opened this shop where I get to continue this important work. I wish to hold space for people and create beautiful art that helps them feel more connected and more like themselves.

What do you find most rewarding about being creative?

I get to show up to work excited every day. Not only do I get to make art that feels so meaningful, but I also get to spend time with really great people. The most rewarding part has to be that these clients don’t just buy my art, they wear it for the rest of their lives.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Just keep supporting local artists and makers. If you don’t have access to them, choose Etsy over other online shopping sites. Thankfully tattoos can’t be sourced from a large corporate location, but be sure your artists values match your own and that they care more about quality work than being cool on Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.inkberrytattoo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inkberry_tattoo/

Image Credits
Christophe at Shot2Sell