Rosa Bluestone Perr didn’t set out to be a tattoo artist. As a visual artist her tools of choice were paint brushes and charcoal pencils, that is until the fateful day she decided she wanted a tattoo. Ten years ago, the tattoo landscape looked a lot different than it does now—small, fine-line designs weren’t as ubiquitous as they are now. As someone who likes to learn things herself, Rosa decided to teach herself how to tattoo by practicing on herself. How hard could it really be, especially considering the fact that people gave themselves stick-and-poke tattoos all the time? “I was used to holding a paintbrush or a pencil and doing detailed work,” she explains. “So it felt like a natural transition to hold a needle” She fell in love with the artistic process, and friends started reaching out to her to get inked. Word spread to friends of friends and the business grew.
For Rosa, tattooing started as something she wanted to try and now it’s grown into so much more. “I really feel like it is a form of healing,” she says. “I’ve seen how powerful a tattoo can be in helping somebody to love themselves more. I see my clients look at their new tattoo on the part of their body with a whole new sense of love, and it's just such a beautiful thing. I didn't realize how powerful tattooing was in the sense of its ability to help someone love themselves and feel at home in their body,” she goes on to add.
Below, Rosa takes us on a tattoo tour and gives us insight into her tattoo journey. Don’t expect all of them to have some deep meaning attached to them. “I think a lot of people put a lot of pressure on the significance of a tattoo then they maybe feel too nervous to get anything,” says Rosa. “I think it can have significance but I think it’s most important that you love the way it looks on you and it helps you love yourself more.”
Mermaid Skeleton
“I'm a Pisces. I've always been just a fish. Ever since I was little, whenever I'm in water, I feel like my most whole self. This is an ode to my love of being in water.
“I’m [right-handed] and the mermaid skeleton is the first [tattoo] I gave myself with my left hand. It was pretty cool to realize I could tattoo myself with my left hand. After I gave that tattoo to myself, I said out loud to myself, ‘I can do anything.’ It was a very self-empowering moment to feel like, wow, we really can do anything.”
Herbie
My dad's named Herb. And when I was little, I would call him Herbie. He passed away a few years ago, and he was an artist; he was the reason I was always making art. I grew up in his art studio loft in Greenwich Village, and I was always given art supplies. Me and my brother were always encouraged to creatively express ourselves. So that tattoo is an ode to him.
“I think I'm always drawn to a hand-drawn look. I like when things are a little imperfect. I think it looks more organic on the body like that.”
Evil Eye
“This is an evil eye protector. I really just like the way it looks. I think tattoos can have a lot of significance and can mean different things to you at different times in your life, but I think it's also just as important that you like the way it looks on you, because it will be there forever.”
Winged Skeleton
“I've always just been drawn to bones. I love the way that they link to one another and come together in many individual pieces to form a whole. I also think bones are interesting because they represent death. And I think our culture has a hard time with death, and it's a very real part of life. Underneath it all, we are all bones. One day that'll be all that's left of us, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad or scary thing. [In regards to] my own experience with death, I think understanding mortality can help us appreciate each day more and be so much more grateful for life. It doesn't have to be a scary thing. It can help us see the beauty around us even more.”
Del Mar
“Del mar means ‘of the sea’ in Spanish. It just comes back to my love of being in water and my obsession with the sea.”
Jewelry
“Some of the first tattoos I gave myself were rings on my finger. Then when I felt more confident, I gave myself bracelets. I really love the idea of tattoos as permanent jewelry; I think it's a delicate way to adorn your body.”
Love
“I think we're here on Earth to love each other, and the most important thing we can do is love each other and we should all try. It's something I work on; I get frustrated with the people that I love in my life, or annoyed with strangers. It's so easy to feel frustrated with people and I think it's so powerful to try and shift that [mentality] and treat everyone with love.”
Angel
“I created this design of an angel guide, my spirit guide who's always by my side and has my back.”
‘Here’ and ‘Now’
“It's a reminder for myself to stay present. It's something I try to practice often and it's helpful to see it every time I do anything with either of my hands.”
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