Welcome to the Dark Side
The Tattoo World
Navigating Its Rich Seas & my Story
My name is Rosi Bert
This is me now ✨
Welcoming YOU Into The Dark Side
My whole life has been devoted to tattooing and its world for the past couple of years. The moment I started getting tattooed, it was inevitable; I would only get more and more covered. Tattoos became my obsession, and I learned so much about what it means to commit your body to a decision forever.
And little did I know when I started that I would also transform others.
I am now guiding my clients into making better choices for their own tattoos!
What is the right tattoo for one could be totally wrong for another, and part of my job is to ask the questions that will lead you to the right decision for your commitment.
These days…
I am tattooing in Calgary at the iconic Smilin' Buddha since 2023 under Lindsay Martland. My goals now are to become a better tattoo artist and create cooler art and transform awesomer people. The shop itself deserves a whole blog series, but that will be for a later time...
I am writing this blog to delve deeper into my tattoo journey, and record my process and thoughts.
This is an invitation to dive into my underworld
I'll bring you along on my present journey, some stories from my past, and my future hopes.
Here's how my story started 😇
I got my first tattoo at 19 years old with my sister. Almost everyone’s journey starts with their first tattoo. I hadn't thought much of it for like a year or two, until I learned about stick’n poke from a friend in college... I then did my first one, and I will spare you all the malpractice, cause it's embarrassing.
But I will focus on a blog post in the future about basics of practicing tattoo arts safely... promise!
In the meantime, I will link at the end of this article a few good resources where I first learned about the basics to keep you and others safe if you are already practicing.
From Scratcher 2018
My first stick N poke
As I know better now, I look at young Rosi with a palm on my head.
I had written GRL PWR on my foot with a sewing needle and some India ink from my graphic design project. It took me so long... at least an hour. After a few pokes, I felt like it was too late to stop now. And how fucking painful it was is all I remember.
But I did this one, got better tools; then I did another, and then another... Then on my sister and my friends. And I would spend hours tattooing small things, but I loved it. That art is just so chill. I would put a movie on, and the sound of the needle was just so soothing, and the pain is way chiller than an electric tattoo 🌶>🌶🌶🌶
But I still felt like I was missing out on a whole world. I'd gotten some small tattoos in shops as walk-ins and a bigger one on my thigh, which I didn't like as much.
Shop tattoos VS Home tattoos
They felt just so different; one felt like it operated with many rules, and I was intrigued but didn't quite understand. And the other had only the rules of physics and freedom to transform as I pleased.
I don't know why the jump between handpoke and electric felt so scary, but it did.
This was 2020, I was tattooing a stick n poke on one of my legs, and I had the thought of
Hmm, I could tattoo every day
I was in the flow, the vibes were right, and I wanted to try electric and expand my world
So I got myself an Amazon kit as one does...
AGAIN, see my PSA below if you're about to do this!
I did a poll on my Instagram story, and I asked what my tattoo should be. One of my girlies said butterfly. And I went ahead and tattooed this butterfly on my thigh.
To Apprenticeship2021
At this point, Covid restrictions were raging on, and most shops were closed. And people were itching for tattoos, and so was me and my bestie. Our spark for tattoos was always a part of our friendship; even when we were in art school, we'd be tattooing each other already. We spent all of the quarantine practicing and building our drawing portfolios and learning all we could about tattooing together.
In the summer of 2021, we both presented ourselves to North York Ink (Toronto) and many other shops, too. But as destiny had it lined up, we both got the jobs and started training under our new mentor, Ben (@BC_ink).
⭐️PSA if You're About To Tattoo Yourself 🌈
Please learn about all possible risks and best practices before putting something in your body... Especially if you plan on tattooing others, treat others as you would want to be treated.
The key rules:
DON'T BE A DICK🌈
GO SLOW 🧚♂️
YOU CAN ALWAYS ADD 💀 NEVER TAKE BACK
Tattooing keeps challenging my ethics every day, and most of the mistakes I regret making involve not enough thinking in this department. I regretted having taken risks blindly on my friends. You really don't have to learn the hard way as I did 💁♀️ Ignorance is never good enough. Hence why I am conflicted about talking openly about my story. I know better now than I did then, and I wrote this thinking about what I wish I had read before I started tattooing myself and others!
Tattooing is fun but can cause real harm
Please practice safely
🌈USEFUL LINKS⭐️
No Gatekeeping here
Reads
Very easy read that covers a lot of the groundwork. I would buy this before buying any supplies. Tattooing contains real risks of infections, and there are some dumb mistakes that are avoidable.
Tattoo History: https://www.tattooarchive.com/tattoo_history_ae.php
Tattoo History is also filled with great teachers who taught me so much about what attitude I should have for a successful path. Learn from your elders, as this art has been passed down from them.
Videos to start watching
Every artist has seen this video for their safety training:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz_ZdzQ5atY
Quick history: https://youtu.be/X9s8SqpuW5Y
Tattoos around the world: https://youtu.be/Mt4QZOMYjsQ
Tattoo Aging: https://youtu.be/L3Dk3ENf9k8
Tattoo Physics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeeGmFS749Y
Design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B9Srj3qYZw
Designing is the basis of all good tattoos. Even with a perfect application, a bad design has the most impact on the final look. Learn the basics in as many styles as possible and familiarize yourself with as much of the global tattoo culture as possible.
This video of a Hannya Mask by Chris Garver is one of my favourite artists to learn from. You should check the subject matters that interest you and practice learning its structure.
Precare + Aftercare is should be the same or very similar no matter who made the tattoo.
Check my FAQ for the instructions I use to care for a fresh tattoo.
