Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelsie Shriver. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Kelsie, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is definitely something that I still struggle with sometimes, but thankfully I have been able to work past it by using tools I’ve gained through therapy, and also utilizing my support system. My therapist, who I’ve seen biweekly for the last 2 years, has helped me to break down a lot of the cognitive distortions that feed things like imposter syndrome and other self esteem/self talk problems. I’ve learned, with his help as well as the help from my support system, to take a step back and look at things more objectively to help put them into perspective. For example, my shop goes to the Kansas City, MO Villain Arts tattoo convention every year. When you walk into the convention center, there are world class artists there from all over the world, and it’s incredibly intimidating. This is when the imposter syndrome is at its peak, because I’m in a room surrounded by so many renowned, famous within the industry, tattoo artists that I’ve admired and respected for years even prior to my career. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in that situation, but I’ve been able to keep it together by zooming out knowing that I’m there to have fun, do cool art, absorb every bit of information I can from watching the artists around me work, and meet new people. It’s very exciting to me as well that in a room filled with so much talent, I stay consistently busy all weekend because visitors looked at my work and liked it enough to have ME tattoo them out of everyone else there. At home when I start feeling imposter syndrome set in, I remind myself that if I weren’t good at my job, I wouldn’t be booked out for months in advance. I wouldn’t hear my mentor/shop owner telling new clients of the shop about how “Kelsie is an absolute killer, she’s such a stud. She does such great work!”, I wouldn’t have a first place plaque and trophy from tattoo contests, and I wouldn’t have developed a positive reputation in my area for my work and the experience that I create for my clients.
If for some reason all else fails, I can call my mom and send her pictures of whatever I did that day. She instantly turns into the hype-man of dreams, and will always pump me up with responses like “Oh my gosh, you DID THAT?! That is gorgeous! Phenomenal!” You know, normal, great-mom things to do!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I have been a tattoo artist at Scarlet Raven Tattoo in Lincoln, Nebraska since 2017, and my primary focus is in realism, watercolor, and neotraditional style tattoos. I honestly don’t think that anyone could ever convince me that I don’t have the coolest job in the world. I get to live out my childhood dream of being a professional artist, I get to stretch my social butterfly wings daily, and I get to do it in a setting of wonderful humans and artists that uplift each other. Our shop mission statement, which I feel is very encompassing of a career in tattooing for me, is “A place where quality tattoos and life experiences are created within a creative, comfortable environment. A tattoo is a privilege. It is the visual result of a painful, intimate, and exciting personal experience. It is you. It is real. This is art.” I absolutely love the artistic process of my job, but I also equally love the experiences that it provides. A lot of people refer to tattooing as “ink therapy”, because you are in a very close setting with your artist for a long period of time, and you’re placing a very high level of trust and faith in them. This creates an environment where a lot of deep conversations occur, and it often becomes very personal, intimate, and sometimes emotional as well. I have met some of the coolest people through these settings, and I’m grateful for every single opportunity I have to appreciate and connect with those I work on, and to become part of their story that they wear on their bodies forever.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I believe one of the most important skills I’ve gained is to not to become stagnant. I can absolutely be able to look at something I’ve done and appreciate the work I did, because it’s something I put my time and my heart into. However, it’s also crucial for me to be able to critique myself and see what I could improve or expand on, because I don’t ever want to stop growing as an artist. The next thing that has been enormously impactful, and I’m not sure if this is more of a quality or a skill, is to see others excelling in my field as a learning opportunity rather than a competition. Whether I’m seeing them on social media, working alongside them, or just seeing someone walking down the street wearing their art, I really look at their work. I try to figure out what exactly it is that they’re doing that’s working so well, zoom in to examine it up close, and watch them or their videos of them in action. I make a point to be humble and ask for advice or help when I need it, because we’re all out here just trying to do the best we can at the same game.
The final skill of great impact in this list for me is being able to remain present. This is the one that I struggle the most with, because my brain is constantly firing in 20 different directions at 100mph, but it’s invaluable for my client experiences. It’s something I’ve had to work very hard at, and while I still have a lot of room for improvement in this, it affords me the ability to connect with people and make the experience better for everyone involved.
The advice I have for anyone just starting out in tattooing, or any creative field where you are working alongside other people, would be to practice these three things. I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by other artists who have helped me instill these practices through repetition. Working with a licensed mental health professional on staying present has been huge for me, and is something that could really be helpful for anyone regardless of their career path.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My mom has always been my #1 supporter, and throughout my life, she has wanted nothing more than to see her daughters succeed and be happy. Her continuous love and support has been a keystone for my successes as an adult. Every year for my birthday and Christmas, she would get me drawing pads and some sort of art supplies. My drawings were always proudly displayed on the fridge, framed, or kept in a box that she still has to this day. Everything I showed her that I had made was met with responses like “wow, I can’t believe you’re only X years old and can do this! I don’t even know many adults who can draw like that!” She took me with her when she got her first tattoo so I could watch professional artists at work, which heavily influenced my decision to go in to tattooing. When I hit my teen years, she let me start painting and drawing all over the walls in my room to make a creative space, and when I graduated high school at 17 she signed off for me to get my first tattoo. She told me that I needed to research shops and artists before committing to getting work done by them, which is how I met my mentor Cody. I’ve learned and developed resilience and persistence by following her example. She is a woman who got knocked down hard by life while having two young daughters to care for, and rather than quitting or settling for less than we deserved, she started back from scratch and worked a full time job as well as an additional part time job most of the time to put herself through nursing school in her mid 30s. All the while, she was still somehow finding time and energy to spend with her kids. We were very poor when I was little, but I truly don’t feel like I missed out on anything; because even while the kids around me were going on expensive trips, getting all of the newest toys, gaming consoles, etc., I had a mother who was willing to scrape together and sacrifice everything she could to provide my sister and I with a childhood in which we felt loved, and our passions were supported.
Contact Info:
- Website: scarletravencollective.com
- Instagram: @kelsie.shriver.tattoos
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/havener.kelsie.tattoos
- Other: TikTok: @kshrivertattoos
