Trailblazers such as Maud Wagner, the first known female tattooist in the US and Jessie Knight, one of Britain’s first professional female tattoo artists, have paved the way for countless other women to enter and thrive in this previously highly male-centric industry.
This development seems to be holding true here as well, where passionate new talents such as KL-born Carrelyn Chow are making a name for themselves in Malaysia’s thriving tattoo landscape.
The bubbly 29-year-old, currently a resident artist at House of Oma, has been gaining attention for her bold designs, which effortlessly blend blackwork with neo-traditional styles.
“I also incorporate abstract designs, which are useful when we ‘flow’ the tattoos on the human body. Some things may look good on paper, but you have to take things like muscle contouring into account when actually working on people,” Chow, who is popularly known as ‘Carebear’, told FMT Lifestyle.
As befits the job, Chow also sports many striking tattoos. A tribal Bornean throat piece adorns her neck (a graduation gift from her mentor, she explained) while both her arms are covered by intricate designs, including a Hamsa hand and a siren from Greek myth, “a tribute to my love of diving…still a work in progress!” she said.
A letter is inked on each of her fingers: put together, they spell “OVERKILL”: ironic, as Chow clearly doesn’t believe you can have too many tattoos!
Perhaps it was written (or inked?) in the stars that she would venture into this industry someday: Chow decided to get her first tattoo after both her elder brother and twin sister did.
Her mother was apprehensive at first when Chow said she wanted to be a tattoo artist, but came around after realising just how much her daughter wanted it.
After completing her SPM, Chow studied graphic design, before beginning an apprenticeship with a local tattoo artist, where she picked up the tips and tricks of the trade.
“I think there’s a lot more tattoo artists around nowadays. And I think that’s good for the industry, it’s easier for us to share techniques and knowledge,” she said.
“It’s tough sometimes for female tattoo artists. You sometimes run across people who clearly aren’t here for tattoos, but just want to be around you. Thankfully this doesn’t happen often, but female tattoo artists who work alone should be a bit careful,” she cautioned.
Chow said establishing good rapport with her clients was important: after all, getting a tattoo was a major body modification, and people needed to think about it thoroughly before committing.
It was for this reason that she advised against tattooing the names of boyfriends or girlfriends: love doesn’t always last, but tattoos do. Better to get an image that symbolised your loved one, Chow advised, or something that reminded you of special times spent together.
She recalled one memorable case: a man who insisted she ink the word “SAD” in tiny letters across his forehead.
“He said not to worry, his hair would cover it. I said what if one day he became bald? But he insisted, and so I did it. If I could talk to my past self now, though, I would tell myself not to do it. You don’t know how a tattoo like that could affect him,” she said.
Getting tattoos could be addictive, she laughed. Most people had difficulty choosing their first one: they usually want it to be symbolic or meaningful.
Once they’ve got a few, however, focus usually moved to the empty spaces on one’s skin around the existing tattoos, and filling the spaces up can be quite a thrill.
Yes, some people still have negative preconceptions about people with tattoos. Chow believed, however, that tattoos ultimately are just creative expressions.
“The world is progressing, but I guess everyone has their own pace when it comes to accepting anything. I would say though, to just give us a chance.
“Sit down and talk to us, and maybe you’ll see that we’re all just human, at the end of the day,” she concluded.
Follow Carrelyn Chow aka Carebear on Instagram.