Check Out Sara Jean’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Jean. 

Hi Sara, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I have been an artist most of my life. I found my joy of painting and drawing in high school. After high school, I attended college at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs. I wanted to be a galley painter. I remember going in to get my first tattoo at 18. I feel in love with the world, the culture, the punk music, and the art. I was lucky to have one of the most charismatic and friendly tattoo artists Troy Sedlacek who is now the owner of El Dorado tattoo but at the time was an artist at Premier tattoo in Colorado Springs. He answered my million and one questions about tattooing without being rude or crass. He is a solid artist and a good person, in a lot of ways he helped spark my interest to pursue tattooing and guide me into doing things through a proper apprenticeship. Later that year I went through a set of circumstances that caused me to drop out of college and move to Denver. I was managing a Pizza Hut and really felt like my life was at a dead end. The person I was seeing at the time got sick of hearing lament my college dropout and the fact that I had been turned away left and right looking for an apprenticeship and got me into his car and drove down broadway so I could try and get an interview at any shop. I eventually was taken for an apprenticeship at Inferno tattoo off Evans and Broadway. It was a hard, I worked evenings flipping pizzas and spent as much of the afternoons at the shop as I could. The shop ended up switching hands and so did my apprenticeship, I ended up with a wonderful mentor Erin Rust who was very kind and took me under her wing. I spent the next year and a half as her apprentice and learned a lot at her new shop at the same location Love Sick ink. Eventually, I finished my apprenticeship my mentor moved and I was out on my own. I went to Living Canvas Tattoo parlour where I worked for 6 and a half years. I cultivated a lot my identity there and gained a humble following. A few years later my daughter was born and I felt a change that I needed to better myself. I decided to return to school and in 2019 I did just that. I have discovered a lot of my artistic identity in my illustration program and am almost finished with my degree. I recently switched shops to Tribal Rites in Westminster and I look forward to this next leg in my artistic journey. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Tattoo apprenticeships are hard, they are very time demanding like a full-time job but without the pay. I worked hard. I cleaned the shop daily and fit in as much drawing and watched people tattoo before going to work in the evenings. It is probably one of the most tired I have ever felt in my life, besides having a new baby! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Tattooing is what I do full time during the day but I also do freelance illustration. Most of my work is digital but I dabble in oils and other physical media when I get the chance. I mostly like to do Spooky cutesy art with some elements of horror but for tattooing, I have done a variety of styles but enjoy animals and spooky art that is similar to my illustration style when I get the opportunity. 

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Covid was a really humbling time for me. Losing my job on a moment’s notice when I was confident that everything was going right really rocked our household. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to return to work after a couple of months and we didn’t suffer any major financial setbacks. It really made me realize how much I loved my job and gave me the time to realize that I missed it. 

Contact Info:

• Email: sarajeanartist@gmail.com
• Instagram: sarajean_art