We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Celli Villarreal a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Celli, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?
Having ten years of professional training in ballet and pointe under my belt as well as competing as a varsity runner all four years of high school in cross country and track definitely has left its impact on me to be extremely self disciplined. That athlete mentality never leaves you! Additionally, my parents raised me with a self disciplined mindset. They themselves have always been very involved in the fitness industry combined with a strong work ethic; when I think of them, I hear the word “determination.” Looking up to them my entire life as motivation to grind hard both in the gym and in my everyday life to create the best version of myself manifests with lots of self discipline.
I’ll be completely honest, I have not always been this way, and it has taken years of practice in holding myself accountable to create the change I needed to thrive. That’s what has lead me to be able to live my artistic dreams and be able to do what I love full time. I truly am so thankful that deepening my mindfulness and spirituality in combination to changing habits optimizing my physical health make me feel stronger in my craft each day. I am always hungry to learn and to challenge my artistic abilities.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Growing my artistic career is my main focus at this time. I have been licensed as an esthetician for the last six years. I began my journey as tattooer and permanent makeup artist two years ago. I have so much gratitude for my experience as an esthetician because it truly set me up for success as an artist whose canvas is skin. I feel confident in educating my client’s on their skin health and the proper aftercare post tattooing.
I am most excited to continue seeing where this journey takes me! I am a firm believer in being a multi-disciplined artist. I am a mulit-passionate person; I love to keep learning in layers and overlapping each layer into building my career. I equally love creating body art and permanent makeup. Body art allows me to tap into my inner child and draw. Permanent makeup allows me to use my makeup artistry skills to create beautiful eyebrows, lips, eyeliner or freckles while using my esthetician knowledge to pick the correct needle for specific skin types. There is a plethora of continuing education for the field I am in, and it is so exciting to watch where the trends are taking us learning new techniques.
My next chapter ahead of me as a tattoo artist, is completing my paramedical tattoo training. Once I am certified I will be able to provide scar camouflage and 3D areola restoration services. I just know it is going to be an absolutely amazingly rewarding feeling to give someone back positive self esteem whether they need scars blended out from stretch marks, reconstructive surgery, etcetera, or areola restoration post double mastectomy.
Something I am excited to explore in my free time as an artist is diving into music. Music has been such an important aspect of my life, especially as a dancer. I have been itching to get my hands dirty with mixing on some decks! This has been a dream in the back of my mind for the last few years now so to taking my first steps to explore a new creative outlet is exhilarating! Relearning circus arts and try new ones is another creative outlet I am excited to explore for leisure in the months to come. Aerial silks, lyra, and hooping are what I feel drawn to most!
This past year in particular I have been the busiest I have ever been so far and at times led myself to burnout. As this year approaches the the last few months, I have made a vow to myself to create some better boundaries, allowing myself to take some slower weeks when needed and make time to have fun creative outlets that I do not depend on for an income. I truly believe that artists who depend on their craft as their only source of income must honor themselves to make time for art that they can engage in just for pure enjoyment. Life is way too short to not have fun!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Working in the industry that I do and honestly I believe this could apply to any service-based related industry; the client experience is key to creating returning clients. These are the clients you build rapport with, create some beautiful human connections, and those are the clients who will be your key sources of spreading your name by word of mouth. Receiving referrals is a wonderful feeling to know that you created such a positive client experience for them and moved them enough to inspire them to speak highly of you to their peers. For me personally, incorporating mindfulness and spirituality into my client experience deepens my connection with my clients. To illustrate, I encourage my clients to pull positive affirmation cards from two different decks while their stencil is drying for a body art service. More often than not, my clients frequently make comments such as, “Wow, I really needed to hear that today.” I always smile when I hear words like that because that is exactly why I offer those cards. You never know what someone is going though in their personal life: It offers my client a moment to check in with their self and step into the present moment of their service I am giving.
Furthermore, as an artist it is extremely important to release yourself from judgement. If there is one thing I have learned from looking up to other artists is that once you learn to stop constantly comparing yourself to others in the industry and simply honor your divine timing with your skills, your level of confidence and the quality of your work increase tenfold. Because I did not begin my tattooing career with body art I used to feel so “behind” for as long as I had been working as an artist. Once I began acknowledging all my accomplishments and growth with gratitude rather than thinking “I am not where I should be,” I felt so much lighter. Truthfully, I am beyond thankful I began tattooing permanent makeup due to the fact it taught me to value precision which translates very well to clean line work in body art.
With that said, I am a firm believer in remaining humble as an artist; to always be eager to learn and never stop learning. Every single day someone is discovering a new technique or releasing new technology that can help you grow as an artist. I think the moment you believe you’ve learned everything is the moment you create limitations for yourself. Always remain open to possibilities and new potential!
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Practicing mindfulness and taking care of my physical health better has been huge to keep me level headed. I try my best to meditate twenty minutes each morning but sometimes as a night owl I don’t always wake up early enough to meditate for that full amount of time or maybe I only have time for a few minutes of deep breath work to do in my car right before walking in to the shop. The simple practice of setting an intention of some stillness before a busy day is a huge help in my stress management.
Of course there will always be times of feeling overwhelmed, and I tend to experience higher anxiety during the weeks I load up my books with long consecutive days. I am still learning to create better boundaries for myself with my schedule and allowing myself to work lighter weeks and be content with slowing down. It’s not healthy for me to constantly go a mile a minute. I have to put into perspective that if I put in 30 hours of body art in one week, for example, then I am likely spending that much time or possibly more outside of the shop drawing. I am learning that I also don’t have to respond to every single client message at all times of of the day; to allow myself to have a cut off time each day and I can pick back up again with responding the following day. Boundaries are necessary to prevent overworking myself.
Getting back into a regular fitness regimen has been a huge help to relieving stress as well. Our bodies are always so much stronger than we think. I thrive off that fresh rush of endorphins immediately after a solid workout! In addition, as a petite tattooer, keeping my strength up helps me power through long sessions and to be able to tattoo on people who might be much taller than myself.
At the end of the day, I am human. Any time I feel overwhelmed I can embrace the emotions and use loving awareness towards myself and practice patience. Emotions are what make the human experience so beautiful! Without the polarity of being overwhelmed, I wouldn’t appreciate my times of ease quite as much.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Inkedbycelli
- Facebook: Beauty by Celli
- Other: TikTok: Cellidubz
Personal Instagram: Cellidubz
Image Credits
Images have been taken myself.
