We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Meghan Alayne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Meghan , 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.
It seems imposter syndrome has been a steadfast companion as long as I’ve been tattooing. I see so many people, but especially artists, really struggle with it. It still comes and goes with new or different challenges I face. But for the most part, my dedication and consistency to tattooing and always striving to be my most authentic self is really what keeps those little nagging voices at bay.
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?
I am a tattoo artist and studio owner. I have been tattooing in Chapel Hill for 12 years. The studio, Ascension Tattoo, is a group of 5 artists, all with varying styles. We all love tattooing and making art for people in a really fun, welcoming and affirming environment. As the shop has evolved over the years, my core mission has always been to create a safe space for the tattoo experience. I realized very early on in my career how unwelcoming and aggressive the average tattoo experience was for a lot of people- particularly women, poc, and queer folks. As I started learning to tattoo, I heard endless stories about bad experiences and how they didn’t even know a tattoo could be an enjoyable and affirming experience. I love making art as much as I love creating welcoming and safe environments for all our clients and artists alike.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Consistency, determination, and good communication skills would maybe be my top three qualities that helped me the most along the way.
I truly believe that consistency in your efforts will lead to success. Another tattooer gave me this advice early on, and I really took it to heart. When you practice a skill regularly, you naturally get faster and more efficient, create neural pathways and muscle memory so that you can keep leveling up and building more skills and making more connections.
Determination, or maybe hard -headedness has always been a “skill” of mine. When I really set my sights on a new goal, I tend to go all in.
Communication skills is another big one for me. I find that listening and connecting with people are some of my most valuable skills, across all areas of my life.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
This is such an interesting and great question! I was definitely brought up to believe you should invest effort in certain mainstream skills because they will make your “successful”. I was regularly told to get good grades, so I didn’t have to get a job working with my hands. Art could be a fun hobby, but not a career. As a mom of two teenagers, I have also witnessed this mindset as the predominant attitude of mainstream education, and really began to question that perspective as I helped them navigate school.
While I think that everyone should have a basic level of reading and math skills in order to navigate daily life, I really think we place too much attention on where children are lacking and not nearly enough on their strengths and the places they shine.
With so much more dialogue these days around neurodivergence and what that means or looks like for every individual, I think we have a real opportunity to shift our perspective on this.
So many people grow up feeling with low self esteem and maybe even shame because they weren’t good at this or that subject, or maybe even “school” as a whole. And as a result, it takes them years (or maybe never) to discover what they truly are good at.
Beyond the basics, I think it’s far more productive and confidence boosting to lean into things that come easily and naturally. This also makes it easier to stay committed to a path of you are in a positive feedback loop. While I do think it important to overcome obstacles and so hard things… the reality is, it’s much easier to do hard things and to feel confident and resilient when you know – and truly feel- that you have lots of positive qualities adaptive skills.
Contact Info:
- Website: Ascensiontattoonc.com
- Instagram: @mm33tattooservice and @ascensiontattoonc
