Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Vodak.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
I always knew I would be creative; I never thought I had the artistic talent to become a tattoo artist. At least, that’s what I told myself into my late 20’s! I genuinely thought that art skills were something you’re born with, and I wasn’t blessed with them since the stick figures I drew didn’t always come out looking human.
I went to UT Austin for film because I wanted to be a screenwriter and director. Still, I settled into a marketing career after graduating in 2011, when I discovered how problematic working in Hollywood and the commercial film industry is. I started collecting tattoos in my 20s to express my creativity and love of art and made many artist friends. One night in 2017, while some of us were hanging out after a convention, I blurted out, “I would kill for y’all’s talent,” my friend Shanti replied, “The only reason I’m any good was that I kept drawing until I was. No one starts well.”
You all; that sentence changed my whole life. I started drawing every single day beginning that night. Over the past 6 years, I’ve picked up every single art resource I could get my hands on to teach myself illustration. In 2018 I met and got tattooed by my now husband and business partner, Joe Tricomi. He started apprenticing me to tattoo last year, and now here we are, opening our private studio, Neon Knights Tattoo Club, in far north Austin! I’m so fortunate to be taught by and now work alongside my best friend and biggest supporter.
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Lol, it’s been a far from easy road. I was turned down by many shops and artists when I started looking for an apprenticeship, far before I was in a position to be apprenticed by my husband. The tattoo industry is known for being challenging to get into. They always say if you want to learn to tattoo, the best way is by getting tattooed frequently and making relationships with artists. Hang around the shop and show them how valuable you are/can be. So I did! But then one artist took one look at me up and down after I said I was interested in becoming a tattooer, and he said, “You need to be a 1o to be a female tattoo artist, and sorry, hon, but you’re like a 4 at best.”
One shop owner told me I “wasn’t a real artist” (still trying to figure out what that means? Is making art not the only qualification?) Another shop told me no and gave me feedback on my art portfolio after they said it was stronger than they’d like to see but then hired a beautiful young college student without so much as a doodle to her name the next week. No portfolio, no connections. Just a look that I didn’t have.
Even after getting married and I started learning under my husband, there are still people who don’t want to see me succeed; people who think that I’m somehow ‘cheating the system’ by having a non-traditional apprenticeship or that I don’t deserve the opportunities that have been afforded to me. But to them, I say, “Die mad.”
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Neon Knights Tattoo Club?
We’re one of Austin’s newest private, fully custom tattoo studios. We wanted to make a space where people who love tattoos and art but never felt truly at home in the traditional tattoo shop could feel welcome. Obviously, as a husband and wife team, we have a lot of love for each other, but also tattooing because it’s a transformative experience. There is so much power in being comfortable in your skin and loving your body; everyone on this planet is worthy of achieving that. At our heart, Joe and I are both just nerds who aren’t afraid to be passionate about what we love, and that’s what we felt the tattooing world could use more of! We want to be known for respect, creativity, and high standards for ourselves and our art. Call it our code of chivalry, if you will.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
With the love and support of others, I have been extremely fortunate to have a network of family and friends that have always had my back. They came out to art shows when I was starting and gave me constructive criticisms when I was stuck in downward mental spirals about my lack of progress. The first thing my family said when I told them our plans to open our shop was, “How can we help?” I will never take them for granted; there aren’t enough characters to properly thank everyone who’s helped me get here. No one succeeds alone.
Pricing:
- Free consultations
- Appointments required
- Hourly tattooing rates
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.neonknightstattooclub.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neonknightstattooclub/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091624389724
Image Credits
Photos, Logo, and Tattoos by Sara Vodak & Joe Tricomi
