We were lucky to catch up with Tori Fernandez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tori , 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?

Honestly, the only times I would feel that thought would even come up would be when I would be in a lower state of my mind than my usual self (whatever mental circumstances I’m in that lead me to think of the “easy way out”, a set schedule, set income, etc.) However, I am in a complete state of peace and self as a an artist, and that’s just my path. The way I see it, I just wouldn’t be able to survive any other way. I started my young adulthood testing the waters of industrial professionalism, attending university. Getting that full sensory insight as to what awaited for me- in terms of how you communicate with peers, sterile buildings, etc. I know my body was rejecting the experience. I grew deeply depressed and started into early alcohol abuse, which would later take years after to overcome, mostly because of how deeply that environment did not support my nervous system.

As a neurodivergent artist, tattooing allows me to genuinely connect with the communities of amazing humans that can truly be themselves, flourishing into their best selves. We do that through our creative approaches to projects; and their connectivity with that respective client, in environments that support our visual and auditory needs. Aside from the life changing and priceless individual experiences I’ve lived as a tattoo artist, in the most basic physical sense: music, colored back lights, comfortable black clothes, and great conversations with clients and peers; there’s just no better livelihood for me as an artist and I’m eternally grateful for this craft.

Tori , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an all around visual artist (paintings, murals, digital design) and currently spend a vast majority of my time as a tattoo artist and shop owner. Prior to officially embarking on the apprenticeship route, I was a pretty active musician. For that extremely young adulthood era it was exactly the life experience I needed to balance out the negative emotions and experiences I felt while in university. I won’t go too far into it, but it is something that would affect me years after. Something about being so deeply emotional and not being able to channel that, led me into drawing for hours. I had drawn as a child, but the subconscious release I felt more-so at that young adult phase in my life was deeply moving in an entirely different way. Through the support and guidance of friends, I found my way into an apprenticeship and I never looked back.

Now I’m about to hit my 11th year as a full time artist and I’m so proud of all that I’m able to offer my clients in their tattoo/self love/healing journeys. I currently specialize in black and grey as well as color realism, hyperrealism, surrealism, micro-realism as well as trash polka, comic book/anime and cover ups. I would also consider myself to be proficient in most other styles and will respectfully approach almost any other style if it’s truly what that client wants; but, for the most part, clients who come to me are looking for what they see I do best and pour my creativity deeply into.

Aside from tattooing, I’m currently creating most of my paintings with acrylic gouache, acrylic watercolors as well as most recently experimenting my blood as a watercolor. It’s a great catharsis for me as a person outside of tattooing to process, heal, solidify my sense of self, and work on my technical abilities.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

At this point in my life, I do feel like my current goal is to provide peace and comfort and love to all of those who surround me, and what I do as a tattoo artist and shop owner. In the space I’ve grown to create with my life and career experience to guide me, I make it part of my journey to be what I always needed, as a young woman coming up as an artist, and be the most supportive and loving entity to the artists that work alongside me as well as those clients who are just so open and willing to share their lives with us.  In the simplest way, a loving community is what I strive for and pour my heart into creating. We go through our lives journeys together, light and dark; whether that be breakups, beautiful life experiences, depressive seasons, or just sharing our day to day joys. That openness and connectivity allows us to thrive and flourish into the best versions of ourselves artistically as well as just not ever feeling too alone in this journey as artists.

Now with my clients, I do also strive to provide that level of comfort and healing in a more significant sense. Unfortunately, many issues with abuse have been a part of our industry and I personally do feel that if I can do anything, and everything in my power to help those who have suffered or been fearful of those experiences, then I will. I try my best to provide people with experiences that make them feel like tattoo shops are fun and safe, and just full of laughter. With those missions to uphold, I will keep tattooing and providing that feeling for as long as I possibly can.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I completely agree. As most artists who have graduated from their apprenticeships can agree, we receive A LOT of information from our mentors and other artists while we come up. Most of it I would say is necessary technical information; however, we also do end up receiving a lot of not so necessary, opinion and perception based insights.

When we first start in tattooing there’s this constant want to be asking questions and wanting to learn, and just to kind of absorb whatever you feel, you can take with you from those that you view to be, experienced and successful at that early point in your career. So we build these perceptions of success based on things like money or popularity, or recognition when that lesson or as you could also call it core belief really just mutated itself into ego.

“You want to stay booked, do this.” “All successful black and grey artists look like this”, etc. With these years of people perceiving success in different ways and not having the ability to develop our own insight so early on, we build these avatars we think will guide us to success loosely based on the ideals of others. They look a certain way, post a certain way, etc. and that avatar becomes as extension of our own ego, what we perceive success to look like.  So to answer your question, the most important lesson that I ever had to unlearn was anything that led me to act based on that ego, period.

I think a fundamental part of a long-term tattoo and artistry career is releasing that ego that we build. Even if it was never built by us, but just placed in our brains by those that were around us that we viewed with rose colored glasses. Honoring and valuing those who have mentored us and taught us things towards our careers, is so incredibly important, don’t get me wrong; but, making it our journey to take on their values, is where some miss the mark. The more I receive my deep connections with my clients and the artists around me, I learned that ego even existed, needed to be dismantled, and then I truly understood that my success lies in my achieving of goals I have for my own self reflecting of my own career and no one else’s.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/toriteratism
• Instagram:@toriteratism