Meet Taka | Tattoo artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taka and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taka, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve always wanted to be a tattoo artist since I was a small child. My mom told me a story, reminding me. She asked “Why do you want to be a tattoo artist?”
I, being a strange child, answered in turn,
“Because I want to make people bleed!”
Things have changed since then… But not much lol. I think to be a tattoo artist you have to be a little bit sadist to a degree.
I’ve been drawing, painting, sculpting, crafting and creating since I was young, so conventional jobs never worked well for me. Finally, I had enough. After losing my job because of COVID related details from the Safeway bakery, I finally decided to persue what I REALLY wanted to do. Now, I can’t remember doing anything else, and honestly don’t think I could go back now.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started out as an apprentice, working in a tiny shop with two other artists. I moved fast learning, but in no way would I say it was easy. I had plenty of issues. At the time I was married, had children, and didn’t have a paying job. It was very difficult to find those individuals that understood I wasn’t going to be making money for a while because I was there all day, every day I could. Half the time it was a lot of just sitting around, wanting to leave, but other times, it was grueling work. Once I used city water in the autoclave instead of purified distilled water, so as punishment, I had to clean the shop, literally, top to bottom. Later, I actually quit after I had messed up a tattoo on a client. I was in a bad place, so emotionally, I couldnt handle it. Later, I ended up divorced, unable to take my kids with me and having to leave them was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life. Luckily it was my sister and brother in law that took me in, let me stay there and, no it was still difficult, but they made it so I could finally get back on my feet after hard times. After working a few odd jobs, mostly retail and food, I decided enough. Because of a misunderstanding I had, I was fired indirectly from Safeway working in the bakery, related to COVID type details. Finally I decided to continue my apprenticeship at a new shop. I decided when I got there, I wasn’t looking back. I stayed as much as possible, sometimes working long after close, as a working apprentice. My boss was extremely sympathetic to my situation and helped me through some vary harsh times. I became an artist shortly after. Every time it became hard, and I had a big decision to make or tribulation to fight through, I always came to the same conclusion. It’s could always be worse. I look at all the bad, and I see how hard life is for others. That pushed me to get through. If most people can get through harder situations than me, then this should be easy. Anyway, I know it’s nothing profound, but I found my dream job and just being there, was enough to push me to continue. I love what I do, and I could t imagine doing anything else ever again.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I personally love the eccentric! Oddities, freak shows, gothic art, musicians, horror themed events, etc. I find all these things fantastic and fun as hell to experience! But I’m also a pretty avid gamer. Love rpg games, some mmo games, and fighter games. I think if my best friend came to visit, she and I would probably end up getting day drunk and playing DevilMayCry, or god of war, any of them for the majority of the stay. We used to party together a lot but now we’re a little more settled down, so going out would still be fun, but maybe no big punk shows with mosh pits anymore. So, gaming again, I think I’d treat us to Dave and busters for dinner, drinks and big ass expensive arcade games. On the more calming days, maybe we go to walk around a fancy, bougie mall and giggling when the uber yuppies stare at us because of our tattoos and piercings lol! Just being honest. Anyway, I’d also introduce her to some of my work friends. I work in a pretty big studio, so there’s a lot of verity of personalities in there. Mostly meals would be me cooking, Japanese food, Mexican and Italian. A lot of take out, but I love cooking when I can, and have been told I’m pretty good at it! Of coarse by the end of the week, we would be working out to burn the calories and crap we accumulated from hanging out hehe. Honestly, I think if we wanted to do something more on the extreme side… Maybe something outdoorsy. I e always wanted to try white water rafting, so maybe that’d be an option! Anyway, I would be wrong, but sounds fun to me!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My sister and brother in law, my ex spouse and 2 children, and my fiance Vinny. All these people helped me the closest and most effectively in order to move forward, and I am eternally grateful to all of them.

Instagram: @conbontaka / @endlessinktattooco