If you’ve landed here, there’s a good chance you like tattoos, art, or the idea of becoming a little more yourself.
So, hi. I’m Mish.
I’m a tattoo artist in Cookeville, Tennessee, an art nerd, a mom, and someone who decided that it wasn’t too late to completely change direction and pursue something I genuinely loved.
And this little corner of my website is where I get to talk about all of it.
Why Tattooing?
My path into tattooing wasn’t exactly traditional.
I already had a career. I had spent years working in graphic design and marketing. I was raising my kids, homeschooling, building a life, and doing all the things adults are supposedly supposed to do.
But art kept pulling at me.
Eventually, I had to decide whether I was going to keep wondering what if? or actually do something about it.
So I became a tattoo apprentice.
Starting over as an adult is humbling. There’s a lot of being bad at something before you get good at it. A lot of learning. A lot of drawing. A lot of asking questions. A lot of realizing you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing and then showing up the next day to try again anyway.
And I love it.
I Believe Tattoos Should Feel Like You
One of my favorite things about tattooing is that people get tattooed for completely different reasons.
Sometimes there’s a huge story behind it.
Sometimes it represents grief, faith, family, healing, change, or a chapter of someone’s life they never want to forget.
And sometimes the reason is simply:
“I think this is freaking cool and I want it on my body.”
Both are valid.
I don’t think every tattoo needs a deep explanation.
I do think your tattoo should feel like it belongs to you.
My job isn’t just to put ink into skin. It’s to help take an idea, a feeling, a reference, or even a very vague “I don’t know exactly what I want, but I know I want something like this…” and turn it into art that works on your body.
Because good tattoos aren’t just drawings.
They’re compositions designed for a living, moving canvas.
You Don’t Have to Know Exactly What You Want
This is something I wish more people knew before walking into a tattoo shop:
You are not expected to be the artist.
You don’t need to show up with the perfect design already figured out.
You don’t need to understand tattoo terminology.
You don’t need to know exactly how big something should be or where every leaf, flower, line, or tiny detail should go.
That’s what your artist is there for.
Bring me the idea.
Bring me the screenshots.
Bring me the Pinterest board.
Bring me the weird explanation that starts with, “Okay, this is going to sound crazy…”
We can work from there.
Part of becoming a tattoo artist is learning how to guide people toward designs that will look beautiful, fit their body well, and age better over time.
I want my clients to feel comfortable asking questions and being part of that process.
What You’ll Find Here
I created this blog because there is so much about tattoos that people don’t know until they start getting tattooed.
So we’re going to talk about it.
I’ll share tattoo education, design inspiration, behind-the-scenes looks at my apprenticeship, things I’m learning as an artist, tattoo placement advice, preparation and aftercare tips, stories behind tattoos, and probably the occasional opinion I simply cannot keep to myself.
I also want to document what it looks like to become an artist later in life.
Because maybe you have a thing you keep thinking about doing, too.
Maybe you’ve convinced yourself you missed your chance.
Maybe you’re waiting until you’re more talented, more confident, your kids are older, life calms down, or you finally stop being scared.
I understand that feeling.
But sometimes you have to start before you feel ready.
That’s basically how I ended up here.
Come Collect Some Art
I tattoo at N’Vious Tattoo Gallery in Cookeville, Tennessee, where we believe tattoos deserve to be treated like what they are:
Art.
Art you get to collect.
Art that travels through life with you.
Art that becomes part of your story, whether that story is incredibly meaningful or simply, “I saw it and immediately knew I needed it.”
Both sound like pretty good reasons to me.
So welcome.
Follow along with the blog, check out my portfolio, and when you find yourself thinking, I need that tattooed on me…
You know where to find me.
Mish