Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Taylor Black. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Taylor , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Let it die.
Flow into creative moments…and out of them(:
The manually calling upon your imagination for making new ideas as your job. Is exhausting and admittedly a tad stressful. Definitely not something easily achieved at first and can even be straining to attempt.. If it wasn’t you wouldn’t be asking right? Lol
However it can be, well so to speak “summoned” Creativity comes when we have stopped seeking it and focus our attention on simple, well defined goals for how to achieve self expression. Or achieve a paycheck 😂 .
Creativity is the moment when the act of physically attempting our ideas~ originated from our imaginations, fueled by our passions.
When I say let die, what I really mean is let understand it’s not an ever present aspect of creating. It’s fluid. Be free and lose yourself in what motivated you to begin in the first place. Focus elsewhere; Look to your muses or dissect the concept over with fresh eyes or new questions.
To be more specific; when we think of what being creative means. It means to be inspired by imagination and to be clever when problem solving. While constructively asking “How?”or “What if” when expressing or carrying out an idea or “Vision”.
Tattoo artists and professional creatives expected to essentially call upon these elusive cognitive skills seemingly on demand. As you could imagine sometimes imaginations run out of juice….lol
I’m very analytical and though my madness I believe I have found a way to “summon” creativity when needed.. It’s a lot but here’s my method in Tattooing.
First things first, I believe ALL success stems from defining a clear end goal. Or end result. Make something about the process a constant; or identity what cannot change. Meaning a specific aspect of the project or creation method that cannot be removed or modified. ex: Clients Anatomy/ Idea for Tattoo
Second is identifying what (if anything) needs to change or what is preventing the end goal essentially. ex: Tattoo Size, Tattoo placement, Ideas not visually appealing when combined
No two clients and no two artists are ever the same~ and what makes my clients inspired to get their tattoo is unique to them.
I am able to summon and keep creativity alive when I am using my imagination and analytical approach to learning my craft. I am in essence being creative everyday(: & it’s never gets tiring 🖤
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hi! I’m Taylor and I am a Tattoo Artist and turn signal enthusiast! lol I’m a freelance illustrator and concept artist originally but have been tattooing as my full time main gig for 3 years on May 25th 2023. I utilize design skills and my experience as an illustrator to effectively lean into custom tattooing as much as I can. I strive to implement everything available to enable my clients to be as involved in the design process as they would care to be.
My main focus right now follow my dream of supporting me and my daughter with tattooing. Getting the opportunity to be a positive guide for people as they trust me to help them enter this next phase and literally transform themselves is HUGE~~
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Never take anything too personally
Always look for the best in people
Keep Going Anyway
Do Good Anyway
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Matt Clemmer! 🤌🏻
My mentor and my coach. Matt leads me and so many absolutely beautiful souls and Tattoo artists through a program called “Tattoo Business Mastery”.
I discovered Matt and this Mastery course through the “Tattoo Guardians Podcast” in early 2022 and have discovered the tools to change my life. Even if you don’t tattoo I highly encourage anyone to check out the Guardians podcast on Spotify or YouTube🖤 Tell em I sent ya 😂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://taylorblacktattoos.square.site/
- Instagram: @taylor_black_tattoo
- Facebook: Taylor Black
