You may have heard of tattoo artists, but have you heard of a tattoo designer? Junior Mia Siegel has been doing art for a long time now, but only recently found a new canvas. “[Tattoo design] was something that I never imagined was even on the table,” she explains. From posting her artwork to getting asked to draw up personal designs, Siegel is making her way up not only in the art community, but in the tattoo world too.
“It is absolutely crazy to me seeing people walk around my art literally on them,” Siegel says, referring to her favorite part about this whole process. “It sounds stupid to say it like that, but the fact that someone actually goes out and gets the design I spent hours on. It’s crazy that someone likes my art enough to put it on their body forever.”
Siegel has painted some murals around the community, and her artistic talents really stuck out to someone in particular. “This one guy saw a piece of art that I have done, and he really loved my style. He reached out and asked if it would be ‘totally crazy’ to commission a tattoo design. I had never done anything like this before [design a tattoo], but he was willing to be my first.”
The man getting the tattoo requested a sleeve of ‘Incubus’ related things. Since this band has had a very positive impact on his life, Siegel did lots of research to create an encapsulating design. “I am currently drawing up another [tattoo] for him, so that he can eventually create a full sleeve on his arm.”
“This design is of an airy art style, which is much different that what I usually draw. I had a lot of fun with it though.”
While Siegel has a few clients based on commission, she has also been looking into apprenticeship programs at different tattoo shops around the area. Some of her most recent creations have been ‘Flash Tattoos’. “A flash tattoo is more of a simplistic design that people can get tattooed quickly,” she explained. At Flesh Tattoo Company, they offer something called a “Get What You Get”. There is a plethora of small tattoo designs encapsulated in a gumball machine. If you choose to take part in this, whichever design you draw will be tattooed on your body. Not only can some of Siegel’s sketches be found in this random selection, but they are also featured in Flesh Tattoos’ reference book.
When it comes to considering if this is something she wants to do full time, Siegel is on the fence. “Admittedly, I’m a little tentative to go into a heavy art field because it feels like an unsure profession,” she starts. “I’ve always felt like it was more of a hobby and not as locked in as a paycheck-to-paycheck kind of job, but I would love to do this as a career if the opportunity presents itself.”
