Today we’d like to introduce you to Sofia Alexandria.
Hi Sofia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been creating art my whole life , I became classically trained in drawing and painting when I enrolled in Chicago’s first public art high school, originating in the south side of Chicago, shout to Chi-Arts class of 2014!
I always had a deep love and admiration for tattoos and was already drawing up temporary tattoos on myself and classmates in my early high school years. Most of my classmates and all my friends knew I would be a tattoo artist because of the reputation I built with my art.
I was gifted my first tattoo kit at 16 by my boyfriend at the time, but I didn’t start right away due to my dad being strongly against it because I was a minor. Then at 17, I couldn’t wait any longer , so I started scratching my classmates out of my bedroom.
After I graduating high school, I attended SAIC for sometime and dropped out to focus on my recovery from an eating disorder and pick up where I left off with tattooing. I never completed any apprenticeship, despite my attempts of failed or incomplete apprenticeships. I am self taught , and I’ve learned everything through trial and error, and picking up techniques from my colleagues, My journey with tattooing began as tool of expression and reclamation of our bodies, and with time, it developed into an intentional ritual where I provide my clients the space to connect with their body, mind and spirit in the initiation of a tattoo.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I definitely took the hard road with tattooing, my experiences were incredibly dark and difficult at the beginning especially as a woman of color in a male dominated industry. In 2015, I was 19, a fresh college dropout, I decided to stop tattooing out of my home and work in a shop.
My first apprenticeship and licensed tattoo shop that I worked at , was traumatic to say the least. I was young , naive and vulnerable. I took the first shop that was willing to take me in as their apprentice.
Here comes the trauma dump, trigger warning.
I was used and abused by the owner/mentor. One time , I was laced with drugs by the owner at the shop , he then made me tattoo a drug addict client of his for his own enjoyment to see me struggle, with me increasingly being so out of it , I could barely preform the tattoo and gave up after one line. I had ninja star blades being thrown over my head and missed my head only by inches , as I seen it clung to the wall. Yes that’s right!
My psychopathic boss thought it was entertaining to throw blades at me while I sat at the drawing table working on designs. I was threatened, yelled, and cursed at. It was a nightmare that I couldn’t believe, and to avoid escalation and making it more real, I kept silent about it for many years. Thankfully I survived to get out of it and to see Greenleaf tattoo get shut down, the owner was later arrested from assault cases from other victims.
After that experience, I didn’t learn anything new , all I’ve gained was more emotional baggage. I started a second apprenticeship at a reputable shop and although it was more professional, I was battling a lot while being in an abusive relationship that I unintentionally sabotaged that opportunity before learning how to improve my tattooing.
For several years, I floated and worked from street shop to street shop, almost all of them being toxic masculine environments that drained my energy and made me feel like I fell out of love with tattooing and decided to quit tattooing all together. I broken up with all my clients, and picked up position as an art teacher over the summer.
It wasn’t until I had an unfinished half sleeve on a client and brought it home to finish in my apartment, that’s when I realized that I do love tattooing, I was just in the wrong working environments. When the summer finished, I picked up tattooing again at a small private studio owned by artists I admired.
In 2019 at 22 years old, my friend Jesi and I became shop owners, as we opened up our own private tattoo studio/art gallery in the heart of Pilsen, Chicago.
It was for the first time I fell more deeply in love with tattooing as we fostered a safe space for myself , my clients and friends to receive the medicine of tattoos. Looking back, I see that all the hardships and challenges that I endured and the healing journey I took on , helped shaped me and my tattoo practice.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in fine line blackwork of sacred geometry, ancient and indigenous folklore and geometry, ornamental, mystical and psychedelic surrealism. One of my specialties is also freehand work, as I find that to be more intuitive and free flowing for me.
The tattoos I design and create, I view as sacred markings that help weave the body, mind spirit into coherence with nature. They are talismans of protection, a shield of honor and expression of the heart. I pray and channel while I’m in the creation process so that the receiver can feel empowered on their journey, and heal with their tattoo.
The majority of my sessions are ceremonial for those who are open and ready to receive that offering of mine. Every now and then, I have clients who aren’t open to the spiritual aspect of my practice, so I respect their beliefs and boundaries, as I believe in meeting people wherever they are at and support them in the ways they want to be supported. In those cases, I only preform my own individual ritual before the session to cleanse my energy and set my own intentions so that I can still give them my best.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
A characteristic that only those who are really close to me know that I am a jester lowkey. I am super silly and playful, my partner says am pure comedy, so I guess you can say I’m funny or whateva. But really I just find humor in the realness of anything and everything. I love bantering, playing different characters and doing silly little voices (especially the evil ones) , yelling for no reason and dancing dumb. Life is so serious so I like spazzing out on some goofy business to keep myself stimulated. I wish I can be more comfortable sharing that side of me with more people, but that’s premium access that not everyone gets unless they match my humor.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ayachaska.com
- Instagram: @ayachaska
