TAOU IS FOR ARTISTS : JELENA NIKOLIC
Let’s start with some rapid fire questions to ignite this interview:
Movement or breath - breath
Stillness or action - action
Yin or Yang - yang
Down dog or child’s pose - down dog
Color or black/white - color
Summer/Spring or Winter/Fall - winter/fall
Lets look behind, going back to the begining:
How did you decide that you wanted to be a tattoo artist?
I fell into tattooing. All the things I’m most passionate about, I’ve really stumbled into. I went to school for Fine Arts, after which I decided I was never going to make art again. Serendipitously, after getting tattooed a lot, I got a job at the front desk at a tattoo shop, and after working there for free for a year was taught how to tattoo. It just felt right, and I was excited to start the journey.
Personal art form and journey:
Art to me now is a personal quest. Art school was very structured and it didn’t feel like that form of art belonged to me. This belonging is something I’ve only fully experienced the past few years, as I’ve found my own voice within tattooing. When you’re first starting out, you’re expected to be a certain type of tattooer, but then you find your voice and begin to make art that resonates with who you are as a person.
What inspires you in your work/life?
That’s a really good question. I feel like inspiration is everywhere. I think traveling inspires me, people inspire me, podcasts inspire me, books, yoga. You can find inspiration everywhere in everything.
Honestly though, yoga is one of my biggest inspirations in my art, but then also in life. I think there’s a lot of crossover between art , spirituality and yoga. They all have very common goals. You know, like they say in yoga, through the practice of yoga you are connecting/uniting to something greater than you. And through art, you can tap into self exploration and the question “Who am I?” There’s a lot of that in both spirituality and art. Figuring out who you are, and connecting to something greater than you.
Present theme?
Bells! Tattooing bells, things with bells attached, all things bells. This is inspired by a recent trip to India.
What do you hope for the future of your art, or even the art world that you're a part of?
Using art as a transformational healing practice. Since the beginning of time, art has been very healing and eye opening. Specifically within tattooing, is has been seen as a healing modality of sorts. I think we have stepped away from that, so I would love to lean a little more into that, using my art more and more as a means of self-exploration, self-transformation and self-healing. And maybe those getting tattoos from me can have similar experiences through the act of getting tattooed.
What is your favorite class at TAOU?
Kat’s TAOU class on Tuesdays at 6:00PM - part journaling, little community.
I’ve talked to Kat about this before, she talks about sitting with yourself, committing to a pose and just recognizing where you are..feeling whatever comes up in that pose. I had done- well it’s not really art related but it can relate in some way- I had done a 5k last year, and I’m so not a runner at all. But when I was running, all I wanted to do was quit. And I just heard Kat’s voice in my head, like “Stick with yourself-feel what you feel and commit to yourself”
In a yoga practice, I think it’s very similar when you’re holding those (what we label as) more difficult poses. To sit with all of it, stay in it, to believe in yourself and know that you’re strong enough. Yoga poses, especially the difficult ones, can teach us a lot about ourselves. That idea also crosses over into tattooing, because sometimes it’s hard to receive a tattoo, you know. You’re really going through it. It’s painful, but you’re doing your breathing and you just gotta tell yourself, like, I’m gonna make it through this. You know?
Book Recommendation: The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron
I love the idea of intentional tattooing. Putting a tattoo on the skin with good intentions, good energy. Throughout time they have been used in sacred rituals, and they should be honored and treated like they’re magic. To put a tattoo on a person, I have to be in the present moment- like in yoga- you have to be in your body and with your client.
Thank you so much, Jelena! Check out her art and tattoos right here.
