Meet Ivana Tattoo Art

We recently connected with Ivana Tattoo Art and have shared our conversation below.

Ivana, so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.

Honestly? I didn’t grow up knowing how to communicate at all. I was raised in a tiny village in Slovakia during communism, and in my house, we didn’t talk about feelings, dreams, or anything personal. There was no emotional language. No guidance. No “how are you doing?” Nothing.

So for most of my life, people didn’t understand me, and I didn’t understand them. I was blunt, direct, and always in my own world. I thought everyone operated that way. It wasn’t until this year that I learned I’m autistic, with ADHD and OCD, and suddenly everything made sense… the noises I make, the hand movements, the way I don’t always read emotional cues, the lack of filter.

People used to think I was rude or cold. But I wasn’t.
I just literally didn’t know how to do the “social performance” everyone else seemed to understand.

So how did I learn to communicate?
I watched the world like an outsider, taking notes. I studied people’s reactions, their body language, what made them uncomfortable, and what made them open up. I learned through observation.

Tattooing actually became my first real language.
When I tattoo someone, I’m focused, I’m present, and I’m connected in a way my words can’t always express. Art helped me understand people long before conversation did.

And as I got older, I stopped trying to copy how people communicate and started owning the way I speak, direct, clear, honest, sometimes too honest… but always real. I think people appreciate that. There’s no performance with me. What I say is exactly what I mean.

My communication didn’t come from being naturally social.
It came from surviving, from observing, from learning how to meet the world halfway, even when my brain works differently. And today I’m proud of that. My voice might not be typical, but it’s mine. And it’s taken me around the world.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My name is Ivana Tattoo Art and I’m a Celebrity Tattoo Artist, the founder of the Funky Color™ style, and the first woman in the world whose tattoos were recognized as contemporary fine art by the MACRO Museum in Rome. I grew up in a small communist village in Slovakia with no access to art, no mentors, and zero encouragement. So the fact that my work is now displayed in museums and worn on the bodies of clients around the world still feels surreal but it reminds me what’s possible when you refuse to give up on yourself.

My brand is positive, playful, loud, and emotional. I mix bright colors with abstract elements and storytelling almost like pop art with a heartbeat. People come to me from all over the world because they want something that feels alive.

What’s special about my work is that I create from a neurodivergent brain. I was recently diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and OCD and instead of hiding it, I’m speaking about it publicly because my whole life finally makes sense. The noises I make, the way I move my hands, my blunt communication, my intense focus, my inability to fake emotions… these weren’t flaws. They were symptoms of a brain that sees and feels the world differently. My art is a direct expression of that.

Beyond tattooing, I’m also an international Law of Attraction and Manifestation educator. I’ve taught seminars all over the world, and now I’m bringing this work back home to California. I teach not from theory but from lived experience how I used manifestation to go from a communist village to Los Angeles, to traveling the world, to having my art recognized by museums and celebrities. If I can do it, anyone can learn to shift their mindset and rewrite their story.

Right now I’m focused on two major expansions:
1. Teaching manifestation and mindset to larger audiences and corporations by helping people understand their own creative power.
2. Expanding my art into more global collaborations, lifestyle products, and even the big screen. Hollywood is the next chapter for me, and I’m excited to bring my energy into new forms of expression.

My brand isn’t just about tattoos or seminars it’s about showing people what’s possible when you stop apologizing for who you are and start using your uniqueness as your superpower. I want to inspire others to live boldly, create loudly, and believe in miracles, because I’m living proof that they happen.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

When I look back, the three things that changed my career weren’t traditional “skills.” They were the things that kept me moving when nothing around me made sense. I learned how to turn nothing into something; I didn’t grow up around artists, opportunities, or mentors, so I had to create everything from scratch, my own style, my own brand, even my own needles.

If I didn’t see a lane, I built one. I am proud to be a trailblazer in my industry, in my life, my family and my art.

I also treated my vision like a job, not a fantasy. A lot of people dream, but very few show up for the dream every day, and I’m strict with my goals whether it’s developing Funky Color™, building my seminars, or pushing into new industries. Vision means nothing without discipline, and I made mine non-negotiable.

The third thing is that I can connect with people fast, even if I don’t “talk” like them. My art seminars, my tattoo clients, my manifestation workshops, they all work because I focus on making people feel something. I don’t complicate communication or pretend; I communicate the way I tattoo, through direct energy, and people respond to that. If you want to grow, don’t focus on what you lack. Focus on what you already do well, and do it louder, bigger, and without apologies. That’s how I went from a small village to creating art around the world.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I’m definitely open to collaborations, especially with people and brands who bring something fresh to the table. I’m expanding into Hollywood, modeling, positive lifestyle projects, and anything that lets me merge art, mindset, and visual storytelling in a new way.
I’m bored with the copy-and-paste energy in this age, everyone repeating the same ideas and calling it innovation. I’m looking for partners who actually create, not imitate.

Designers, filmmakers, photographers, luxury and lifestyle brands, creative directors… anyone who thinks bigger than trends and wants to build something original.

And honestly, if aliens are ready to collaborate, I’m down for that too, at least they’d bring a new perspective. If someone feels aligned with my work, they can reach out through my website or connect with my team at [email protected] or [email protected]
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