Blog

Jul 15, 2023

Tattooing my clients is an honor. Knowing they trust me to permanently place ink into their skin is immeasurable.

Franso is a tattoo artist and shop owner who lives in San Diego. I remember the

Franso is a tattoo artist and shop owner who lives in San Diego.

I remember the exact moment I realized that I cared about what the ink looked like on paper. Before electronic tablets were even invented and handed out to students, we used to practice writing letters by connecting dashed lines, which later turned into keeping the letters in good form without the dashes. I was 7 years old, sitting at the breakfast table writing my letters out. I asked my mom about my classmate: "Why can't I write like Angie? Her letters are so pretty. I want to write like her." My mom turned to me and said, "Holly, you don't worry about how Angie writes, you just focus on how Holly writes, and one day Angie will want to write like you."

Commentary

Tattoos have a colorful, complex history dating back thousands of years. A national Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 U.S. adults this year found that 1 in 3 people had tattoos, and 1 in 5 had two or more. Some are symbolic or silly. Some are sentimental. Some are spiritual.

After that day, I started writing any chance I could — and everywhere I could. On paper, on chalkboards, on sidewalks with chalk, under the coffee table with crayons and even on my arms with pens.

My passion for the control of the pen evolved, and by middle school, I carried a journal with me everywhere I went and wrote in it every single day. After my parents divorced, my sweet childhood life quickly changed and in helping me to survive life, my journal became my safe place — a place I could talk to myself, pray and express my feelings. I ended up in a continuation high school program at Chaparral High School where I met Michael Leyva, my art teacher. He really saw the passion I had for art and noticed the changes in my attitude once I had a pen in my hand.

He was determined to help me see that I had something, something special. So, along with other students, he entered my artwork into an art competition, and two of my pieces were recognized — one was awarded honorable mention and another first place. That sent me a personal message, a feeling of validation, that not only did my art teacher like my work but so did many others.

At age 31, I began a tattoo apprenticeship at Lavish Tattoo, working with an experienced tattoo artist. I put in 10-12 hours a day, investing my time in the craft, closely watching my mentor tattoo, and drawing daily. After two years, I finally completed my apprenticeship and I began tattooing out of my very own art studio. It is now fully booked every month, and thriving. It is a gift and an honor to tattoo my clients. The trust they give to me to permanently place ink onto their skin is immeasurable.

Seven-year-old Holly would have never guessed that she would end up being a tattoo artist. Now, being a single mother, I am grateful to be able to work my own hours while spending quality time with my 16-month-old daughter and still express myself through art. I am proud of the way I write. I am proud of the way I can control the tattoo machine the way I can control a pen. It is pure joy putting ink to paper, but ink to skin is a burning of passion. The energy feels like a form of cleansing, as if I have been dipped in holy water and I am renewed again.

That is what inspired my tattooer nickname and the name of my future tattoo shop — "Holly Water Tattoo." I want to create a bigger space for my clients to make themselves at home — to feel safe and relaxed. I’ve learned so much about the things that matter most to them. That being said, tattoo sessions are not always the same. Sharing the energy in the room with each client is different every time.

I hope that sharing my story will spark something for you. I hope, too, that if you have a passion for something, you keep that passion inside of you burning — because I am here to tell you that you can do whatever it is that you want to do and that you can do it better than you think. Mr. Leyva and I actually still keep in touch. Being the amazing human being he is, I make time to see him. I have gone back to his classroom to catch up with him and sometimes he asks me to share my story with his students. Surprisingly enough, he still has some of my high school artwork on his desk.

He has even met my daughter, Leiko, and made her a name plaque with her name carved out on a block of wood. I really want to tattoo him one day — that would be coming full circle for me! After all, he invested his time in me and showed me something I may have missed in that difficult time of life. He recognized the artist in me and for that I am forever grateful.