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

Hi Yanna , thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Well, art and creativity in general has always been apart of my life, so there was no doubt I’d pursue art, doing it professionally was the dilemma. At first it was strictly arts and crafts, and music—all of them required money to do, and I was basically a starving artist then—-while also a college student living with my mother. I figured out a way to make money while still creating art in the process, tattooing. Let’s just say, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it’d be, but I stuck with it, focused on that,made the proper investments to improve, practiced and got into a shop. It wasn’t nearly as easy as it seems though, I got discouraged along the way soooo many times, but I kept going, and during the process of it all, I fell in love with it. And over the years I was able to afford my own space, and I’ve been doing it ever since. But, over the last couple of years I got into painting and I recently sold my first commissioned piece, because she ‘liked’ my art. It’s safe to say I know for sure I want to be a professional artist, I never really had any luck with keeping a 9-5 because my heart always yearned for something more, something more being art & the freedom to create whatever I want, for my desired price.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well, I’ve been extremely passionate about art since I could remember the beginning of my own existence. It’s always been there, and I always noticed it, because to me, there’s beauty everywhere, even in places most would deem ‘ugly’ or ‘undesirable’, I always saw it, even before I knew what art was or could fully grasp the meaning of it. I’ve always been interested in art and I never really made the decision to be an artist , I kind of just always was. It’s always been a form of expression to me, whether it be literal art, poetry, songwriting, or just creating shit out of whatever I could get my hands on. I genuinely feel like creating art and inspiring others in the process is my life path, because it’s been instilled in me since forever. I’m a songwriter, musician, and a tattoo artist that paints, draw, and sculpts clay. I own a tattoo studio in Rochester, NY called ‘Forest Ink Tattoos’ and I travel to tattoo as well.
My main goal(s) as a multifaceted artist, is to express myself through art, and to create art for others—permanently on skin or through different mediums. But the main objective , in every aspect, is to spark a light in my audience, to make them think of what they’re most passionate of & hopefully pursue it—- whether it be through conversation, the art itself or from the title of the art.
I’m most proud of the art I created over said years, because you can visually see the improvement in each piece, and I’m a visual person, so every time I dig into my art archive, I’m super inspired to create more , because I haven’t even reached my full potential, I’m steady climbing up the mountain—the goal is to reach the peak, but also enjoy the process of getting there.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative, is inspiring others to think, and hopefully create for themselves, if not something, then a reality in which they’d take the wheel of their own life and pursue what they’re most passionate of. Because the fact that most artists and creatives, such as myself, are risky enough to do something that may or may not reap reward, solely for the love of it, is pretty damn inspiring.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Something non creatives won’t understand about the journey of being an artist/creative, is the drive to create while not having the finances to do it but still doing it , and basically spending every dollar and cent on supplies,and countless amounts of time working and perfecting the craft, because it’s something you love. & For a great amount of us, art is a way of expressing self, because a lot of times it’s hard to do so with people, and visually its easier for people to see, or hear sometimes, if it’s through song or art. Personally speaking, I grew up in a pretty dysfunctional family, and a chaotic environment where I didn’t have a voice to express myself in any way, but through art and music, I was able to do so. People understood me more and it sort of made people want to understand me more after peering into my mind through those different mediums. So, not only is it about passion or expression but also the freedom that’s felt while doing so. Most people are driven by funds and materialism , some of us are driven by having peace of mind through creativity, and freedom of expression. To me materialism and money provides a temporary fix, but something that feeds the soul, is far more fulfilling.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.forestinkllc.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/yannaforesttattoos
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/yannaforest
• Other: www.yannaforest.com https://yannaforest.bandcamp.com/