Blog

Greetings, internet! It’s Livia Michael again, tattoo apprentice at Speakeasy Tattoo in Los Angeles. As a woman in a historically male-dominated industry, I want to shed light upon prominent female figures in tattoo history. First up, Maud Wagner, the first-recorded professional American female tattoo artist. Maud Wagner was born Maud Stevens in Kansas in 1877. Before becoming a tattoo artist, Maud was a circus performer, travelling the country, performing aerial stunts and

Greetings, internet! It’s Livia Michael! As an apprentice at Speakeasy Tattoo in Los Angeles, there is so much information I’m absorbing about the practice of tattooing - specifically that tattooing is not only an art, but a science as well. A tattooist having a thorough understanding of the anatomy of the skin is crucial in order for a tattoo to look great, last, and retain its quality. The artist must expertly place the needle into the correct layer of the skin. However, th

Greetings, internet! It's Livia Michael again! As an apprentice at Speakeasy Tattoo in Los Angeles, I am not only learning about the world of tattoo, but also art history and technique as well. There are a multitude of art movements and techniques that have evolved throughout the course of history, but one remains fundamental to the way in which artists accurately represent their surroundings - chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro is a conjugation of two Italian words. ‘Chiaro’ translate