Name: Deirdre Aikin, 47
The early bloomer got her first tattoo — a version of the D.C. flag with three X’s in place of the stars, known as the D.C. hardcore symbol — at the age of 11, but the self-proclaimed “super dork” says she knew even earlier that she was destined for a career in body art.
“There’s a picture of me as a kid with swirls of finger paint all over my body,” she says. “My mind always just went to the body. To me, people are more interesting when they’re colorful.”
Today, Aikin makes lasting impressions on her clients at the Rockville location of Tattoo Paradise, where she has been a resident artist since 2012. Though she began her career 25 years ago specializing in realism and intricate Japanese styles, her work now encompasses nearly every design imaginable.
Aikin, whose mother and grandmother were artists, estimates that she does up to four tattoos a day, and says that she has a three-month waitlist. Though if you have a convincing enough story, she’s likely to make time for you. “If you hit my heartstring, I’m like, ‘Fine. I got you,’ ” she says.
Aikin got her first job at a tattoo shop when she was 12 years old (you read that right) by lying about her age. Back then, she says, tattoos were considered lowbrow.
“If you think about the people who originally got tattooed, it was sailors and soldiers,” Aikin says. “And the women who got tattooed, generally speaking, were carnies or prostitutes.”
Much has changed since the early days of tattoos, and even since Aikin got her start: Today, the rise of social media has helped tattooing gain footing as an art form. “Society has accepted that this is the way some people look,” Aikin says.
In the coming months, Aikin and her husband, Grant, plan to open a studio of their own — Triple Crown Tattoo Studio and Art Gallery — in Towson, Md.
“I’m frigging nervous,” Aikin says. Which is a phrase we’re willing to bet she’s usually on the receiving end of.
How she got the job
Following that first job as a pre-teen, Aikin attended D.C. public schools before shipping out to California for community college. For her sophomore year, she transferred to Parsons School of Art and Design in New York City. While living in the city, she gained formal tattoo training by apprenticing at a local tattoo shop.
“It’s a lot of sweat equity: You scrub a lot of toilets, take out the trash,” she says. “It’s a trade, so the process is like any other trade craft. You stick with a senior person and you move up as you gain your skill.”
After graduating with a bachelor of fine arts with a concentration in Asian art history, Aikin got a scholarship to Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and completed a master of fine arts with a concentration in sculpture.
All the while, Aikin tattooed to make her way through school at underground shops, gaining customers by word-of-mouth. “Once you’re an able tattooist, you can take that job anywhere,” she says. “It’s a mobile job: If you’re confident, you can get a job almost anywhere.”
Reflecting back on her start in the early ’80s, Aikin says she had the additional barrier of being a woman in a field dominated by men. “I came in under my own regard, not by dating a tattoo artist or through a friend,” which was previously how many women were able to gain access, she says. “I tell some of the younger women artists now, ‘You’re welcome.’ ”
Who would want this job
Because tattoo artists deal with a wide swath of people and personalities, tolerance is a must.
“You have to be open to different cultures and ways of thinking,” says Aikin. “I don’t see people for anything except for their heart. You can’t judge anybody for anything but what’s inside.”
You should also be communicative to ensure clients are happy with their ink. “I’m a little bit of a teacher, a little bit of a psychiatrist and sometimes a little bit of a parent,” Aikin says. “You have to be able to give instruction so that you can do the best job.”
And lastly, you should be in the field for the love of the work, not the prestige. “A friend of mine told me that being a tattoo artist is the closest thing you can be to being a rock star,” Aikin says. Be prepared to be choosy about where you work, because it can feel like someone new is opening a new tattoo shop every day, Aikin says, “even if they shouldn’t be.”
How you can get the job
Though Aikin has degrees in fine art, it’s not necessary to have a traditional education. Rather, the best tattooers are experts with a needle. “Some people can draw beautiful things, but they don’t have the technical skill to put the tattoo on correctly,” Aikin says. “A piece of paper doesn’t age like skin.”
The most important step to becoming a successful tattooer, Aikin says, is to get a legitimate apprenticeship with someone who has at least 10 years of experience, ideally for three to five years. “Find an artist you respect, spend some time with them at the shop, and they’ll likely take a shine to you and take you in,” she says.
And never, ever pay for an apprenticeship, Aikin says: It should be a paying position like any other job. “I run into a lot of kids who are like, ‘I paid for an apprenticeship,’ and I’m like, ‘You got scammed.’ ”
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