YAYA TATTOOS

Yaya is a mom of 2, and a wife, born and raised in New Jersey. She started her tattooing career in January 2022. She may be a newbie in the industry, but she has the heart and desire to trail-blaze through it. She is not afraid to take risks and do what it takes to step outside her comfort zone. Yaya’s main focus is dainty, minimal, and creating black and grey realism tattoos. You can find her at Ink Gallery Tattoo Studio in New Jersey ⸺ What is the most important advice you can give someone new to the art of tattooing? My best advice for someone new to the art of tattooing is you are not going to feel confident when you start your journey. These are skills that take a long time to master, but if you are consistent and work on them every day, a year from now, you can be in a completely different place. Give yourself the patience to have room for errors. Through your errors, you can learn and grow ⸺ Is there anything you wished you had done differently when becoming a tattoo artist? When I finished my appren - ticeship, I wished I had more discipline. I feel like I gave it up so quickly based on fear and feeling like I wasn’t worthy or good enough to be an artist. I don’t regret any decision that I made in my life because, through my experiences, I have grown so much as a human being. I needed to go through challenges to become who I am and appreciate where I am today. I just have a completely different mindset 10 years ago versus now ⸺ What do you do when you’re not tattooing? When I’m not tattooing, I’m either home with my family or in the dojo. I started karate with my husband and kids almost 2 years ago, and we have developed a passion for it. It’s a great outlet and helped me mentally and physically. I love that we do it as a family ⸺ What is a con about being a tattoo artist? I would say a con of being a tattoo artist is feeling I always have to be available to answer people. When I go out, people tell me all their ideas and never end up booking with me. ✕