Today we’d like to introduce you to Kira Wilson
Hi Kira, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a born and raised Austinite so I was raised in the arts in every sense of the word. (Stereotype much?) From a very young age, physical art—whether painting, drawing, sketching, or even sculpting— along with music was what I gravitated towards. I could be in a room full of people, bored out of my mind as a kid, and my dad would pick a photo off the wall and challenge me to draw it. Throughout middle and high school I explored lots of different kinds of art, but it wasn’t until I turned 18, moved out, and got my first tattoo (rebellious, I know) that I thought tattooing was something I’d ever be interested in. As I went to more shops and got comfortable with the surroundings and artists, I started asking questions about the craft—from questions about ink and needles to just, how do you even get started? After getting a push from one of the artists I had been to a few times, I started teaching myself; how do you pull a line, how do you place a stencil, how do you shade with a needle, all the basics. After about half a year of that, I ran into an old work friend who told me his artist was looking for an apprentice! I was excited but… terrified. I didn’t think I was good enough. It took a few days (and my friends threatening to tie me to a chair) but I sent the message and set up an interview. After getting accepted, I spent another year and a half as an apprentice, working full time while pursuing the craft full time as well. So many hours have been put into this craft, and I’m beyond excited to be able to say, truly, that my job is art.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t always been easy. Between working extremely full time while living on my own and putting myself through the apprenticeship, I lost pretty much any semblance of a social life (shoutout to my amazing friends for never holding it against me). On top of that, I thought I wanted to specialize in fine line when I started, but the caveat was that I was required to learn every style; honestly, I’m grateful for it. I didn’t think I even wanted to TOUCH color, and now I realize that it’s something I want to specialize in!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a tattoo artist, I wouldn’t say I necessarily have a specialty—I think my ‘specialty’ is I enjoy every style I’ve ever done, and can create/emulate/mash up pretty much anything brought to me. Some of my favorite work I’ve done has been my color work, and I hope to do more fantasy inspired color work in the future.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Getting to know your local shops and artists and being surrounded by people who are pretty heavily tattooed (thank you service industry) is honestly how it happened for me. You HAVE to have a love of the craft and be wildly motivated to succeed in a career path like this, especially with how oversaturated the market is in Austin especially
Pricing:
- Larger scale hourly
- Small scale by the piece
Contact Info:
