O Auge de um Artista de Tatuagem: Julia Penza no Sucesso nos EUA

Hoje, estamos felizes em apresentar uma entrevista com a talentosa e bem-sucedida artista de tatuagem, Julia Penza. Originalmente da Rússia, Julia tem vivido e trabalhado nos Estados Unidos há 7,5 anos, onde não apenas dominou uma nova profissão, mas também alcançou grande sucesso nela. Nos últimos 2,5 anos, Julia tem trabalhado na prestigiada DC Society Ink, a loja de tatuagem pertencente ao ator mundialmente famoso Dave Bautista e sua parceira, a artista de tatuagem John Kural.

Julia conquistou vários prêmios em convenções internacionais de tatuagem, incluindo o primeiro lugar na categoria microrealismo do DGN Tattoo Magazine e dois primeiros lugares no The Ultimate Ink Challenge. Nesta entrevista, Julia compartilha sua visão da tatuagem como uma forma de arte, fala sobre sua jornada para se tornar profissional e discute seus planos para o futuro. Aprenda mais sobre seu estilo único, inspiração e o que a tatuagem significa para ela.

Vamos começar com uma introdução. Você é de onde? Onde você atualmente trabalha e faz agendamentos?

- Meu nome é Julia Penza. Sou da Rússia. Mudei para os Estados Unidos há 7,5 anos. Há 3,5 anos, adquiri uma nova profissão e tenho sido bastante bem-sucedida no desenvolvimento nessa direção. Nos últimos 2,5 anos, desde o dia de abertura, trabalho na DC Society Ink, a loja de tatuagem pertencente ao ator mundialmente famoso Dave Bautista e sua parceira, a artista de tatuagem John Kural, que tem 27 anos de experiência.

Para você, a tatuagem é arte, trabalho ou algo mais?

- Ambas, é claro. Mas é principalmente motivação para o desenvolvimento. Cada projeto me motiva a fazer melhor e melhor. Quero ser perfeito no meu trabalho.

Como sabemos, você não tem tatuagens. Como isso aconteceu, e há uma vontade de se tatuar agora, ou talvez no futuro?

- Eu não tinha a vontade de se tatuar; na verdade, mesmo me afastava dessa profissão quando amigos ofereceram para estudar para se tornar artista de tatuagem. Eu não me tatoo porque não quero. Eu não me imagino com uma tatuagem; gosto do meu corpo como está. Gosto de tatuar, mas não demonstrar. Fazer uma tatuagem apenas para mostrar que estou conectado a esse campo é ilógico para mim.

Se um cliente gosta mais dos tattoos do seu tattoo artist do que seu portfólio, então é mais lógico ir ao tattoo artist do seu tattoo artist. Apenas o próprio trabalho pode falar sobre profissionalismo. Ainda acho assim hoje. A presença ou ausência de tattoos não é preocupação para meus clientes. O que é mais importante para eles é receber um serviço de primeira classe e trabalho de qualidade que permanecerá com eles para sempre.

E quando você começou a considerar isso como uma carreira?

- Há 3,5 anos. Eu tive várias experiências de trabalho. Desde a infância, fui atraído por duas áreas: lógica e criatividade. Como criança, desenhava muito e sonhava em ser designer. Mas a falta de dinheiro dos meus pais para me fazer estudar uma profissão criativa me levou para o campo técnico. Assim, obtive minha educação em aviação. Não tenho remorso disso; pelo contrário, estou muito orgulhoso porque isso me permitiu desenvolver minhas habilidades lógicas.

Nevertheless, I always had a creative side in me, and upon arrival in the United States, it became my main breadwinner. I first worked as an art teacher at a children's center and then decided to open my own. Unfortunately, the timing was unfortunate. I got into the coronavirus period and had to try hard to pay the rent. At that moment, I came across an announcement about finding an apprentice and decided to just try without any illusions for a successful career. Fortunately, I succeeded.

Tell us how your amazing style developed. How did you start?

- I would define my style as large microrealism with gold-effect details. I've always liked difficult tasks. Microrealism is very difficult work, requiring a lot of patience and attention to small details. When I was preparing a project to participate in the first tattoo convention, I wanted to show the scale of my skills at that time and do something that my soul was passionate about. I did a project with an Asian girl with a lot of small jewelry. This work won two first places. Thanks to it, I was noticed. It's still on my favorite list. I made it with love and got a great result, so I decided to continue working in this style.

However, I don't want to give up other styles. I like being a versatile professional. I want to develop my skills in many styles. I like the idea that any of my fans can come to me and get even a small tattoo, but he will be proud that the work is done by me. Some of my clients ask for my autograph on their bodies. It's very valuable to me.

Did you have any teachers, or are you self-taught?

- During my childhood, my grandmother, a professional artist, had a significant influence on my artistic development. Although she never formally instructed me, the opportunity to closely observe and analyze her paintings at her home provided me with valuable insights and inspiration. This exposure to her artwork motivated me to return home and diligently apply my observations and analysis to my own artistic endeavors. Over time, I noticed flaws in her paintings and began to draw better than her.

In general, I came to professional drawing on my own. When I saw the advertisement for the apprentice, I was already a professional in the art field. I only needed to learn how to use new tools and understand the features. The owner of that salon, Irina Korniliva, helped me with this. She immediately saw great potential in me and said that I could be a cool tattoo artist. I'm very grateful to her for the opportunity. My artificial skin training took about two weeks. Then I also analyzed my hand movements to understand what I was doing right and what I wasn't doing. A full understanding of how to do it correctly came a year later. Still, I'm trying to improve my technique to get even better.

What is the most appealing aspect of your work?

- The opportunity to develop globally. I didn't underestimate myself as an artist before. I know now that I can do a lot, and I haven't exhausted my potential yet.

When did you realize that your career was taking off?

- 1.5 years ago, when I started competing and winning.

We often see you among the participants and winners of the world's largest tattoo contests. How many awards do you have in total? And which one is the most significant for you?

- In 1.5 years of my participation in competitions, I have 20 awards of different denominations, of which 12 are first places. The most significant for me are: First place in the microrealism category from DGN Tattoo Magazine and two first places in the competition The Ultimate Ink Challenge, Best Cover-up and Best of Contest. Both competitions were attended by tattoo artists from all over the world. The jury included highly respected tattoo artists in the industry. In The Ultimate Ink Challenge, I also won a cash prize of $3,500.

You are on the pro teams of several major tattoo brands. Tell us what this membership gives you and whether you can influence the development of the tattoo industry.

- After my win in The Ultimate Ink Challenge, I was invited to the professional team of the organizer of the contest, Painless Tattoo Company. The company is engaged in the production of pain cream and tattoo care products. By the way, these are wonderful products. I also serve on the professional CNC tattoo team and use their needles for certain types of tattoos, as well as on the professional Sedation Ink team, which provides anesthesia during tattooing.

Participation in professional teams helps both sides promote each other. To achieve the highest quality of work, professional tattoo artists work with brands they can trust. Professionals are an example for others, which stimulates the manufacturer's sales, and the tattoo artist receives their products as gratitude for free. It is also important for a manufacturer to know the reviews to improve their products. I, for my part, am working on ideas for a new kind of needle that should make it easier for newcomers to work with shading in black and gray work. My idea is under consideration at the patent center.

What is the most important thing in tattooing for you?

- Quality, beautiful design, and matching design.

Do you travel a lot for work? Where and with whom have you had the chance to work? Can you share your most significant experience?

- Not much yet. A busy schedule prevents this from happening as often as one would like. But I have several convention tattoos in different states in the near future. I'm looking forward to creating my projects. I don't want to reveal details, but I'm planning to work together with one of the winners of the tattoo convention and one of the jury members of the tattoo convention.

What else are you passionate about besides tattooing?

- I'm interested in many things. I like to cook unusual dishes, I like to dance. I used to make a lot of sewn and decor items with my own hands. I love roller coasters and sports cars. There's not enough time for all this now. Free from tattooing, my time is spent communicating with clients and creating designs.

What is the main goal of your journey? Share your plans for the future.

- I've achieved a lot in a short time, but I know for sure that this is not the limit for me. So I want to push the boundaries and reach new heights. I want to get a patent for my invention and launch new tattoo needles into production. Unfortunately, this is a lengthy process and takes years. Having recently been a juror, I have identified a number of shortcomings in refereeing, so I have some recommendations for the organizers of the convention, which I believe will be adopted for more objective judging.