11.13.06: Amy Wagner

Amy Wagner is a tattoo artist working at Tatoolicious. She designs and tattoos her own work. Here is the story of how she began and how she continues on.

“I started painting and drawing in high school. My first day of school I was walking down the hall when the art teacher approached me. She asked if I was in any of her classes. I told her I wasn’t interested in taking any art classes. She wouldn’t hear that. She marched me right down to the guidance office and changed my schedule. Some how she just knew that I would love it. After that it became my passion.

 

“I began tattoo about four years ago. When I was about 17 I had a boyfriend who pretty much lived at a tattoo shop in Seaside NJ. As a result of him being there all the time I would follow and became good friends with the artists and the owner.

 

“Six months before I was moving away to Philly for college the owner asked me if I wanted to apprentice under him. I totally wanted to but I was already enrolled in art school. So I had to decline. Two years later tattooing was still on my mind. I was getting tattooed and hanging out with a lot of tattoo artists.

 

“About half way through my junior year of college, my roommate was bugging me to tattoo him. In fact a lot of people were bugging me. So one day I bought a starter kit on eBay, haha. It was such a piece of crap, but it got me started.

"I did my first tattoo on my roommate and went from there. Tattooing friends and a bunch of punk kids that wanted free crappy tattoos. I was awful at first. I worked out of my house for a while then I started working in Massachusetts out of my friend’s houses. Finally about a year ago I was hired at Twisted Visions Tattoo in NJ. I worked there for a year and then got the opportunity to move out here and work at Tattoolicous. Who could pass that up? Tattooing in paradise!

 

"Right now I’m really inspired by different artist around me. Jerrell Conner, Evan Lovette, Josh Wrede. Dave Quiggle I see the amazing things they are coming out with and I’m like ‘Damn I need to step it up a notch.’"