Valerie Pitohui Las Vegas, NV

SABRINA SCHLESINGER

Originally from New Jersey, I moved to Miami permanently after college to start my career. I studied psychology at the University of Miami and graduated in 2018. I now work at High Art Tattoo, owned by Ruby Croak and Jessica Clark. The shop is located in L.A., but they also have a luxury tattoo R.V. named Medusa that we work events in all over Florida. We also travel around the country to do conventions which is how I’ve gained most of my exposure and clientele. People mostly come to me for my tiny tattoos. I was featured in Cosmo once for one of my tiny butterflies. In the future, I hope to do a lot more conventions in new cities and hopefully in other countries ⸺ What is the most

important advice you can give someone new to the art of tattoo-

ing? Find a good mentor who will teach you and respect you. Find a shop where the other artists make you feel comfortable. Take your craft seriously and do something artistic every day, whether that’s drawing, painting, making social media content, or tattooing. Most importantly, stay humble ⸺ What is the most rewarding part about tattooing? That all these people want to wear my artwork for the rest of their lives. Sometimes that really hits me, and I’m like, holy shit. My artwork is going to outlive me in these people’s family photos forever ⸺ What education/skills are necessary to tattoo? You 100% need to get an apprenticeship. No online class or YouTube channel is going to teach you like being hands-on in a shop. There is absolutely no way around it; you need to go through the apprenticeship process if you want to be a properly skilled and respected tattooer ⸺ What is your favorite thing to tattoo? I love doing ornamental pieces and also micro color realism. Although a lot of people come to me for my lettering or floral work when someone wants a small color realistic piece, I get super excited. ✕

Independent Artist