JAY MORALES

Chicago kid growing up in Salt lake! Afro-Latino background and proud! 25 years old ⸺ Who or where do you get your inspiration from? I get a lot of my inspiration from literally anything I see, from movies to nature, to anime. I always have a way of turning anything into inspiration, honestly ⸺ What did your family and friends think about you getting into the tattoo business? They thought it was great! They were all super supportive and definitely pushed me to follow my dreams. They have seen me do art all throughout my life, so it wasn’t a surprise when I told them I wanted to pursue this career ⸺ What would you say is your favorite part of the job? The best part about my job is making the clients happy by decorating their bodies! A lot of the time, people feel more confident when they get tattoos, and I love being able to contribute to that happiness! I enjoy interacting with every individual because I feel like I always learn so much from every person. I love being able to create things from scratch or taking someone’s thought and making it into reality! ⸺ What was it that initially sparked your interest in tattooing? What sparked my interest was realizing that when tattooing, you get to be yourself and be creative! It’s one of the most creative and expressive arts there is in this day and age. When I realized I could be creative and expressive, I immediately fell in love ⸺ Have you ever had a bad tattooing experience, and what was it? I luckily have never had a bad experience, so I’m super grateful for that! ⸺ What is the most important advice you can give someone new to the art of tattooing? The advice I can give is don’t get stuck in your ways. You can learn from anything. Whether it’s a “bad” tattoo or a great tattoo, you can always learn something new daily if you allow yourself to. Learn from your peers. You can always learn from how they do things, and maybe it’s not how you do it, but you can find an even better way to do it. Be openminded and stay creative! Don’t force your art. Always let the art come to you. Everything starts from an idea, and nothing is a dumb idea. Most importantly, have fun with it! Remember why you chose to get into this career. ✕