Countless designs of brightly colored roses, crosses, and other designs decorate the entire humble room. Sitting on a plush couch, one anxiously waits their appointment, hearing a constant and irritating buzzing noise in the background from another room down the hall. The heart has slowly climbed up from the chest to the throat, and the palms sweat holding the small piece of paper signed at the bottom. This is what it’s like to wait for one’s first tattoo appointment.
Brandy Bryant is a tattoo artist who has worked in Joker’s Wild Tattoos for almost five years. Before coming into the small shop, Bryant had never approached the idea of tattooing others or even getting one herself. “I would get into trouble drawing at work,” Bryant said. “All I do is make art.”
Becoming a certified tattoo and piercing artist would become a way for her to express her creative side and let art become a full-time job. For Bryant being a tattoo artist is “more than just art” but a “passion.” She competed and placed multiple times in the Charles Schulz competition and has become a member of the exclusive Ink Fusion Empire. Ink Fusion Empire is a collective artist group for individuals that are recognized to create popular culture tattoos and tattoo even at conventions like Comic Con.
When walking into Bryant’s room in the tattoo shop, her artwork is displayed all over the walls. Countless movie characters and sketches decorate the walls. Along with her sketches, one can see her displayed bloodborne pathogen license and other certificates for her tattoo licensure. On these licenses, however, allows for a glimpse into Bryant’s private life displaying her previous identity William Bryant. “I’m transsexual,” she said.
Bryant was undergoing her transition when she began her apprenticeship at Joker’s Wild Tattoos. She doesn’t like to tell her customers about her previous male identity as she feels they take it in a “sexualized” and “dehumanizing” way. Her old clients who “always know [her] as a man” still use the wrong pronouns. However, Bryant doesn’t let her customers upset the balance of being a tattoo artist. “I know how to play both sides [of the genders],” she said when it comes to making her clients feel comfortable. One of her customers, Zelda Halterman, said she is “easy to have a conversation with.” Bryant has tattooed Zelda and multiple members of her family. “You don’t have to worry about getting a bad tattoo from her,” said Halterman. “I think she is really amazing,” said Halterman.
“I can see a lot of me in him,” said Bryant referring to Joker’s Wild Tattoo’s newest tattoo apprentice Patrick Neil Wade. Wade has been with the shop for about five months and has already tattooed his first client as well as performed the rite of passage of tattooing himself. “This is definitely the best job I’ve ever had,” said Wade sitting in his new studio room. “I don’t really want to work anywhere else,” said Wade. Although the walls in his room are currently empty of his art, it is sure to be filled soon with his personal style. Wade admires and gets along with Bryant as he learns under her at the shop. “Everybody is different,” said Wade. “If they don’t want to accept that [Bryant is transsexual] then that’s on them,” said Wade. “You gotta be who you are,” said Wade. “Everyone is a little weird,” said Wade. Wade has found that working at Joker’s Wild has allowed him to become accepted for his appearance as well as the people he works with. “I kinda got used to people looking at me funny,” said Wade.
“You’re always learning,” said Wade. Wade feels the hardest part of his new job is the actual act of tattooing. “Regardless of how good you are you [will] suck at tattooing the first time,” said Wade. One of Wade’s first tattoo pieces was a small music note, and most recently a baseball-sized pumpkin. “Your art is a living breathing human that feels pain,” said Wade. Under the mentorship of the shop owner Jason Ownsby, and with guidance from Bryant, Wade learns what it means to create a lasting impression as a tattoo artist.
“Keeping it all together,” said Jason Ownby is one of the hardest parts of the job. “Jason Ownby opened Joker’s Wild Tattoo in 2010 and has over ten years of tattooing experience under his belt as an artist and certified mentor. “It’s not just drawing,” explained Ownby the process of becoming a tattoo artist isn’t one for everyone. One has to be “It’s something that you take with you forever,” said Ownby talking about what it means to get a tattoo and provide an experience for a customer. “You will always remember me,” said Ownby, speaking about what it’s like to leave the permanent impression as a person and as an artist in a person’s mind and on their skin. “That’s what being a professional is all about,” said Ownby. “Go to a real shop and make sure they’re legit,” advised Ownby.
Bryant’s advice on getting tattooed is remembering the fact that “it’s a luxury item.” “I think they don’t put long term thought into what the design is,” said Bryant. She recommends especially to her young clients to think about having the design on the body for forever before walking into the shop.
This story was updated December 3rd, 2015 @ 5:29pm with the addition of an interview from owner Jason Ownsby.
