Tattoos have always been a big part of human culture, and as people’s perspectives on things have changed over time, tattoo art has become more loved and respected.
Tattoos have been stereotyped as rebellious because people often associate them with criminal traits and there have been bans in the corporate world. However, as people have become more accepting and started to embrace individualism, tattoos have become a modern art form of self-expression.
“I think it’s beautiful to have different pieces of art running around your body. It just gives you stories and elevates you,” said Kaiden Fay, the owner of Mockingbird Tattoos.
The increasing normalization of tattoos in the Western world has led to a growing trend of aspiring tattoo artists. Many creative young individuals, like Fay, aspire to pursue a career in this field.
“It’s hard for most people to find a mentor. Luckily, my friend already (had) a tattoo shop, so I started my journey there,” said Fay.
In the early stages of his journey, the most significant challenge he faced was translating his paper drawings into tattoos and establishing his unique style. He made countless attempts to grasp the essence and refine his approach.
“It took me some time to break away from drawing habits and switch to better tattooing habits because it’s two completely different things, especially since you have no going back once the ink punctures your skin,” he said.
With the help of social media and circling himself with friends with the same passion, Fay developed his style and got an idea of what kind of tattoo artist he wanted to be.
“I like to scroll through different artists’ pages and see what I like from their designs to try to incorporate those elements into my design,” Fay said. “And once you get a list of 10, 20 or 50 artists that you like and take them as an inspiration for your work, your skills and ideas will get better easily because you want to match their quality and maybe even do a better job.”
With the popularity of tattoos in Canada, artists have to be flexible to match customers’ wants, and different cities have different tattoo trends. In Saskatchewan, Fay says people seem to prefer simple tattoos like fine-line floral. In Calgary, the spectrum can be more diverse.
“Coming from Saskatchewan to Calgary, tattoo style here is more versatile, and I find there are a lot of clients here who are more willing to get flash tattoos, which is the design that the artist has already drawn and is ready for whoever wants it,” he said.
Even though people’s attitude towards tattoos has been more accepting, there is still a misconception in people’s minds, primarily when society used to label tattoos as gangs and criminal traits. With a negative history, it is hard for some to eliminate that idea.
As tattoos have gained popularity among the new generation, getting this stereotype out of people’s minds is just a matter of time.
With such talented young tattoo artists around Calgary building a positive, dynamic environment for tattoo culture, the future of this industry will get stronger over time.
“This industry right now is getting more open. Artists will help each other out instead of seeing others as competitors, and there’s a lot of information online for people to have a clear picture of how tattooing works,” said Fay. “It will be good.”
